


My Brother's Keeper - Re:Tuned

by jljj1996



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comic), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Feels, Friendship, Mystery, Originally Posted Elsewhere, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2020-12-14 07:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 68,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21011936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jljj1996/pseuds/jljj1996
Summary: Brothers Josh and Jacob's lives are turned upside down when they awaken one morning to the sound of loud jet engines in the sky above them, and the sight of gigantic robots at their door, looking for them.  Turns out, the boys had accidentally embroiled themselves in one of the nefarious Doctor Eggman's plots to take over Mobius and turn it into his own, personal utopia.  Now, having been separated during the invasion, with no hope of getting home on their own, Josh's only hope rests in gathering up the Chaos Emeralds and using their combined powers to reunite himself with his little brother and get them back to Earth.  Luckily, he won't be working alone.As he learns to rely on Sonic's help to navigate through the strange, new world, Josh and his new friends must race to gather the Emeralds before Eggman can get his hands on all of them.  But it won't be as easy, the Emeralds have taken on strange, new properties due to the experimentations of the mad Doctor.  Josh, Sonic, and Knuckles, must quickly learn to adapt and overcome the new challenges that will face them if they hope to succeed.





	1. Author's Note

A warning: This is a self-insert fic.

That’s how this started anyway. I wrote the first version of My Brother’s Keeper when I was an edgy young thing in Junior High. In fact, I still have that version up on FanFiction.net if you want to check it out, it’s right here:  [ https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8385631/1/My-Brother-s-Keeper ](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8385631/1/My-Brother-s-Keeper) It ain’t pretty, but it was something I really wanted to write at the time. It was fun, imagining myself interacting with all these people from these games I loved playing! It was a little project I could do to keep myself busy, and to escape from the stresses of school. I could write cute little fuzzy scenes to keep myself entertained and give myself some proper daydreaming material for when I was bored and probably should have been paying attention in class.

And then I kept writing. And I kept writing all through Jr. High and a little into High School. And My Brother’s Keeper became a 33 chapter, 120,658 word passion project. I’d essentially written a book and I probably wasn’t even ¾ of the way done. It became more than just a self-insert fanfiction, the “me” in the story began to grow and change, becoming something better than myself, more… well “more” than myself. 

And then I just kinda… stopped working on it. I don’t remember why at this point. I just did.

Fast forward to a few years ago with a slightly more adultier me, trying to get on with my life, with an itch to write again. I’d like to, eventually, make a career out of writing, publish some Young Adult novels. Problem was, my mind kept switching back to My Brother’s Keeper, and my inability to finish it. If I never finished that fanfiction, what hope would I have of finishing an actual novel? So, I told myself, that’s what I would do, I’d sit back down and finish My Brother’s Keeper. I began to read back through my younger self’s writing, to catch up to where I was.

Bad idea.

  
I had written about as well as could be expected for a pre-teen dealing with emotions he didn’t know how to process. But I won’t sugar coat it, it was pretty bad. I didn’t want to finish something that I wouldn’t be proud of. Which brings us here, to My Brother’s Keeper - Re:Tuned. I didn’t want this to be just a simple remake, taking all the events from the original MBK and spitting them back out with prettier words. I wanted to do this story right in my eyes, keep the things that worked, and try to alter some of the things I felt didn’t. It’s still not perfect, I’m sure there are a few typos in there, some grammatical issues, and things that are just downright weird... but… I hope that you guys will see that it’s better. Tuned up, if you will.   
  
And I sure as heck hope you guys enjoy! :)   
  
-jljj1996 (Or just JJ)


	2. Prologue

** _Re-Tuned_ **

Prologue

He watched the microwave impatiently as it spun his pizza around and around. A minute felt like forever on an empty stomach. He regretted not paying more attention to his mom cooking, he might have learned some quick recipes. He glanced over at the colorfully marked calendar hanging on the fridge. In bright red, his mother had written “Anniversary Dinner,” followed by a 19 that was trapped inside a heart. He smiled. He hoped they were having a good time. He wondered what his mom would want to do for their 20th anniversary. Something creative probably, a weekend off in a cabin somewhere. His dad would like that, especially if he got to go fishing.

The microwave finally started to beep. He made a beeline towards the white box and threw open the door, exposing his now sizzling pizza to the open air once more. He eyed it hungrily. It was perfect. He reached for the plate, but jolted back when the plate burned him. He immediately began running his fingers under some cold water, feeling the icy relief from the red and slightly irritated burn. He turned to dry his hands off when the phone started to ring. Looking longingly at his pizza, he quickly ran his hands over a towel before picking up the receiver.

“Hello?”

“Yes, we need you to come to the hospital right away.”

He felt his world shut down, an icy shiver crept down his spine as the world seemed to simultaneously spin and close in on him. The room began to contort and change, the cabinet shrinking down, stretching out, and splitting to turn into two hospital gurneys, the microwave twisting and squishing as it turned into a heart rate monitor, and his pizza melting and bubbling and turning red until it turned into-

He had to look away. He prayed that someone would take it away. He counted to ten before slowly turning back. He was in a hospital room now. Two beds lay in front of him, with two bodies laying on top, covered with two white sheets. He couldn’t see the faces, but he knew who they were.

“Can you please identify them?”

He slowly shook his head. “Please don't make me do this.”

“We just need you to look, very quickly.”

He shook his head again. He couldn't look. Not again.

“Please. We just need a positive ID.”

He did his best to swallow past the lump that had formed in his throat as he slowly made his way to the first gurney. His hand trembled as he reached toward the sheet covering the body. He began to sweat profusely. He didn’t want to look. He couldn’t bear to see it.

He gripped the top of the white fabric. He tried his best to calm his nerves. Just one quick look. Slowly, he began to peel the fabric back. He saw the hair… there was no doubt.

“It’s him.” He said.

“Please just look at the face.”

He turned back to the corpse. He felt tears gather in his eyes. He didn’t want to see this. He decided he needed to get it over with quickly.

He ripped the sheet back, as if he were ripping off a bandage.

* * *

Josh’s eyes shot open, and he gasped for air. His blue eyes darted around the room, taking in their surroundings.

He was back in his room.

The teen started to take deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

“It was just a dream.” He intoned under his breath. “Just a dream.”

He turned in his bed onto his side and snatched his digital alarm clock up from his night stand. He pressed a small button on top, causing the display to glow a soft blue.

_2:30 am._

Josh rubbed his eyes as he set the clock back on the nightstand. He quickly wiped the sweat that had formed on his brow, and ran a hand through his damp, blonde hair.

“Just a dream.” He returned to his previous mantra, trying to convince himself that what he had seen hadn’t actually happened. 

“But they did…” He thought bitterly. Tears began to sting at his eyes. He knew what was coming.

“Josh?” A tired voice croaked from the other side of the room. In the darkness Josh could see another figure sitting up in bed, groggily rubbing the sleep from his eyes as well.

“Sorry Jake, did I wake you?” Josh whispered to his younger brother. Jacob rubbed a hand over his face and through his brown, buzz-cut hair.

“Kinda…” The boy whispered back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Josh did his best to put some enthusiasm into his voice. “Just had a bad dream, that’s all.”

“Was it about mom and dad again?”

The question almost made Josh crack right then and there. But he kept his composure. Jacob didn't need to worry.

“Josh, you’ve been having that nightmare ever since it happened.” Jacob seemed a bit more alert now. He paused, letting a silence fill the room as he waited for some kind of explanation from Josh. Josh sat quietly, forcing himself to breath evenly.

“It’s just a dream.” Josh repeated. “Nothing you need to worry about.” He forced a smile, even though he knew Jacob couldn’t see it. “Just go back to bed, I'll see you in the morning. ”

Jacob reluctantly nodded. However, rather than falling back onto his pillow, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and padded barefoot to the door.

“Where are you going?” Josh whispered a little more fiercely. “It’s too early to be getting up!”

“I just need to go to the bathroom!” Jacob hissed back.

“Hurry then, and don’t wake anyone else up with your trumpet practice!” Josh warned. He could imagine his brother rolling his eyes as he walked out the door and quietly slid it shut. Josh let the smile quickly droop from his face. He slowly lowered himself back down to his pillow. Sleep wasn't going to come easily tonight… not again. He curled up as tightly as he could, bringing the covers to his face. 

“Just a dream… just a dream…”

* * *

Light years away, a portly man lounged in a large red chair, grinning and stroking an unusually large mustache. His bald head shone in the dim red light of the cockpit as he watched the stars slowly move past them as his large ship progressed forward.

“We are ready to launch into Egg Drive Dr. Eggman." A tinny voice called to him from one of the stations below him. The Doctor sneered even wider. 

"Excellent.” He replied, his gravelly voice betraying his not-at-all-hidden excitement. “Initiate on my mark." The red-clad Doctor looked back down at his personal monitor to double check that he had the correct coordinates. He allowed his goggle-covered eyes to wander over to the radar, where a small green blip was flashing somewhere ahead of them. In a matter of mere moments, he would finally have what he needed. The one of the last pieces to his master plan. Then he would finally, FINALLY, defeat his nemesis and create his utopia. 

"Waiting on you sir.” A robot from the control panel squeaked. Normally, a comment like that might have set the Doctor off… but today was a good day. Today, one of his plans would work. Today, he would make history! 

“Engage Egg Drive in T min-”

  
The Doctor flew back into his chair as the ship launched across the galaxy at incredible speed. He angrily screamed something about not finishing his countdown to one of the robots, all the while trying to remind himself that yes, this was going to be a good day. 


	3. They're Heeeeeere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forgive the formatting... I'm trying to figure out how to work this site still...

**re:TUNED**

Chapter 1

The moment I woke up, I knew it was going to be a rough day. My eyes simply refused to open, and when they did, they had a hard time staying that way. They burned in that way your eyes do when you stay up too late studying for an exam. I groaned and shut my eyes again as the sun began to leak into my room and onto my face. Mornings like this weren’t all that uncommon anymore. Didn’t change the fact that it still sucked every time I had to wake up.

I slowly sat up, grateful that school still wouldn’t start for a couple more weeks, meaning I could still take a quick nap after breakfast. As much as I would have loved to fall back to sleep, if I didn’t head down now, I wouldn’t get any cinnamon rolls. They were pretty much the only reason I didn’t just sleep through the morning and hole myself up in my room all day. I dropped my legs over the side of the bed and slipped my feet into my slippers, yawning as I stood up and stumbled to the door. I looked over to the side of the room opposite my bed, toward the empty, matching bed that resided there. Jacob was already up, of course. He had probably beaten the sun and woke up early to go play his video games. It was how he dealt with everything going on.

I opened our bedroom door as quietly as I could and started to walk down the hallway, passing about four other rooms before I reached the stairs. The group home we were living in was slightly bigger than others, holding ten kids instead of the average six (according to the Wikipedia article I read before we got there.) We had been here for about three months as we waited for a foster family to come take care of us. Most of the younger kids were able to move in and out fairly quickly. Me and my brother weren’t having as much luck, though I suppose it made sense. If I’ve learned anything from movies and books, older kids had a hard time being fostered or adopted. And a sixteen and thirteen year old definitely counted as older.

I stepped into the kitchen as was greeted by the smell of warm bread and cinnamon. I smiled a bit as my eyes slowly closed. The smell was intoxicating. Sometimes, nothing made me happier than that little sweet burst in the morning. I drifted past the main table, large enough to hold all of us in the home, towards the door separating us from the cooking area.

Most kids weren’t allowed in the kitchen. As the oldest in the house, I was the one exception. I knew my way around a kitchen, so our caretaker appreciated the help. As I stepped through the door, the smell of the cinnamon rolls grew even stronger, making my mouth water. Along with it, I heard the soft humming of the woman in charge.

“Ms. Hannigan?” I called out. Our caretaker’s blonde head poked around a corner and smiled.

“Right on time Josh!” The young woman replied, stepping completely into view and wiping her hands on an old, creme colored apron. She would never tell us her age, but I had to guess she was in her late 20s to early 30s. She was tall and lean, a very attractive woman, which made it all the more surprising that she hasn’t been able to find a man to be with. Despite her ironic name, Ms. Hannigan was one of the kindest people I knew, dedicating her life to helping kids like us who have nothing. Having lost her parents herself, she knew the pain and struggles we all faced, and also knew the happiness that could come from finding a new home. She fought tooth and nail to find every child a home they would be happy in. Me and Jacob had been a bit of a challenge for her since we arrived about three months ago.

“What do you need me to do?” I asked, jumping right into my duties for the day. She knew better than to tell me I didn’t need to do anything. The first couple of days, I insisted on helping, needing to do something, and refusing to take no for an answer. It’s now become part coping mechanism, part habit.

“Icing.” Ms. Hannigan pointed to a large, steel mixing bowl as well as a few ingredients laying about. “Add and mix quick, I think the first batch is almost done.” I nodded and immediately got to work, measuring and mixing as fast as I could while still being accurate. I had quite a bit of practice, I almost fell into a trance as I methodically poured ingredient after ingredient, mixing wet and dry, whisking as quickly as I could until a syrupy, white liquid emerged. I carried the bowl back towards the oven just as Ms. Hannigan pulled out a sheet of large, golden brown cinnamon rolls. The smell was almost overpowering, I had to stop for a moment and appreciate the scent, warming me up from head to toe.

“I love cinnamon roll Thursday…” I muttered, my eyes fluttering closed as I continued to take in the scent.

“Icing please Josh!” Ms. Hannigan reminded, scurrying out of the room and into the dining area. I snapped out of my trance and scuttled behind her, carefully carrying the bowl, trying not to spill. She set the sheet down and took the icing from me. I watched entranced as she tipped the bowl, the white icing cascading down onto the large, fluffy rolls, seeping into the small crevices, covering the rolls in a white sheen. I almost didn’t notice the small tugging at my pajama shirt.

“Are the skinnamin rolls almost ready?” A small voice asked me. I snapped out of my trance and looked down, smiling.

“Morning Rosa!” I replied, crouching down to the young girl’s level. The girl smiled back, showing off the cute gap in her teeth from having lost one just a few days ago. “It’s cinnamon, and they’re almost done.”

The young girl clapped happily, obviously just as excited as I felt. Her brown eyes twinkled and her brown pigtails bobbed up and down as she jumped for joy. I chuckled as I watched her. The young girl, no more than 5, lost her parents in a plane crash. Her mother and father were visiting their homeland of Guatemala, when one of the engines failed, sending the plane careening into the ocean. She was old enough to understand what happened, but young enough that, after about a month of staying here, she was more or less over it. She took a nearly instant shining to me and Jacob, and she became a rather special friend for us.

“But you have to wait outside.” I continued. “You know the rules, you can’t be back here.” Rosa nodded and quickly exited. I could hear the chatter of the other excited children, getting in line in front of the currently shuttered window.

“Roll ‘er up!” I heard Ms. Hannigan call out, followed by the muffled sound of cheering from just beyond. I pressed a button to the side of the window and the old, metal contraption creaked to life, slowly rolling up the window to reveal 8 young smiling faces and 1 tired looking one near the back of the line. I looked back at my younger brother. We found that we were able to communicate somewhat with each other simply by looking at each other. Nothing complicated like twins, but we could get our message across fairly well. I gave him a small smile.

_ Are you ok? _

His mouth went a bit crooked.

_ I guess. _

I sighed a bit. He was taking it as well as you could ask, but I always got the feeling there was more going on underneath that he liked to admit. He tried to act tough around me, perhaps because I was the more sensitive one. I was prone to emotional outburst, while Jacob knew how to hold himself together. It was sometimes him that would drag me out of bed the first couple of weeks. I blamed myself for his unwillingness to break down around me. I knew it was at least, in part, my fault.

“Go get in line Josh,” Ms. Hannigan said, gently touching my shoulder. “I can take it from here.” As much as I would have like to have stayed and helped, I knew that being in the kitchen in front of the other kids did set a bad example. We didn’t want Ms. Hannigan to be accused of picking favorites. I obediently slipped out of the kitchen and retreated to the back of the line, joining my brother. I give him a little shake and another small smile.

_ I’m here for you. _

He smiled back.

_ I know. _

* * *

I quickly slipped out of my pajamas and into some simple clothes, jeans and a t-shirt. I studied myself in a mirror hanging next to the closet my brother and I shared. I brushed my hand lightly across my hair a few times, getting the spike in the front to stand up again. I looked over at Jacob, who staring intently at something on one of the closet shelves. I stood behind him, peering in to see.

“You really like to ogle that thing, don't you.” I teased, motioning to the object in question.

“Yeah, it’s cool!” Jacob replied. “It looks like a Chaos Emerald!”

Jacob loved his video games, and he loved none of them more than he loved Sonic the Hedgehog. At home, you would find him playing whatever was the newest release whenever he had time. Here, it became more of a release, a way to destress, forget what was going on. I couldn't blame him, I found myself sitting next to him more and more, watching the screen intently, sometimes wondering what it was like in Sonic’s world. Jacob didn't have many things as far as collectibles went, preferring to save for the games, but he did buy one thing: A replica Chaos Emerald. We didn't think it was officially licensed by Sega, we bought it from a Chinese thrift store that sold the gems by the dozen for about $10 each, but Jacob thought it was the most mind-blowing thing. He finally settled on a green one, saying how it “called out” to him or something. Either way, he always kept it in a special place, where he and only he would usually see it.

“You should just invest in a real one, you can tell this is just a fake!” I replied, ruffling his short, fuzzy hair.

“The real ones cost a ton!” Jacob whined as he closed the closet door. “And this looks totally real!”

“Sure.” I snickered, smoothing out my shirt a bit more. “You keep telling yourself-” I stopped as a shiver passed through my body. I felt my heart pump just a bit faster. My palms began to sweat a bit. Jacob noticed the change in me and looked serious.

“Where?” He asked, walking to me.

“The window.” I replied. Both of us immediately walked towards the window in our room and opened it, peering outside. We scanned the front yard, and the street.

“...False alarm?” I guessed.

“When was the last time that happened?” Jacob said, his eyes still scanning. “Your creepy senses are never wrong.”

My “creepy senses,” as my brother started calling them, are almost like a warning signal. I wouldn't call them powers or psychic ability, because it doesn't always work. But whenever I feel like how I did at that moment, it usually means something’s wrong. The trick is figuring out what.

“I still don't see anything…” I finally said, after what felt like hours looking outside.

“There's got to be something.” Jacob muttered. I was about to contest when we soon got our answer. We felt it before we heard it. A low rumbling. The glass in the window started to shake.

“An earthquake?” I asked, looking at Jacob. Jacob shrugged before we started to hear a low, deep, whirring noise, like the propeller to a jet or a helicopter. Except, this sounded like dozens of them, and they had to be huge. Jacob and I immediately stuck our heads out the window and looked up, only to find blue skies and white clouds. I ran out the door into one of the opposite bedrooms, Rosa and her roommate's room. They already had their noses pressed against the glass, listening and looking.

“See anything?” I asked as I opened the window.

“Uh uh!” Rosa replied, shaking her head, making her pigtails flop around. I looked up at the sky. Nothing.

“It's scary!” Her roommate cried, the young girl frowning.

“I'm not scared!” Rosa said proudly, placing her hands on her hips. I closed the window back up.

“Stay in your room girls.” I called as I hurried out the door and down the stairs to the living room. Ms. Hannigan already had the television turned on, a phone pressed against her ear. Jacob was already with her, holding the TV remote, flipping through channels.

“I can't believe it either!” She exclaimed. “It's on every station! None of them know what's going on!” I entered the room further to look at the TV. Different news anchors flashed on and off the screen as Jacob flicked through.

“Everyone is saying the sound is coming from right above us!” Jacob exclaimed, motioning to the TV with the remote. “It's like those YouTube videos with that sound everyone around the world heard.”

“Those are a thing?” I asked, sounding a bit unimpressed.

“People think the noises are caused by aliens!”

“You think we're experiencing alien activity right now?”

“You got a better theory?”

“No. But come on, aliens from a different planet, that's ridiculous! Besides, what would they want from us?” I continued to stare at the TV screen, which became nearly impossible to hear over the now roaring sound of the… well, the whatever it was.

* * *

“We’ve found the Chaos Emerald sir!” A robot called from the control deck. Eggman cackled.

“Excellent.” He crooned, rubbing his hands together. “Send ground troops to storm the building.”

“But sir, that's an orphanage.” A voice to his right said. Eggman looked over to the robot next to him. Orbot was pointing to a camera view of the place. The red and black robot with the round head retracted his hand. “There’ll be children in there, young children.” Eggman examined the display carefully and harumphed.

“Well… send in some big robots to stop around the front door, we’ll scare them into giving it to us.” Eggman sneered, putting his hands together again.

“But I thought we didn't want to attract attention!” A much more irritating voice yelled. Eggman glared at Cubot, the yellow and black, cube headed counterpart to Orbot. “You said that yourself!”

“We seem to be doing a poor job at that.” Orbot replied, pointing to another camera feed showing dozens of news reporters standing around the city. “They’re talking about us!”

“Think they can see us?!” Cubot shrieked excitedly as he rushed to a window, waving.

“No, we have the Egg-Camo up, there’s no way-”

“SHUT UP!!!” Eggman roared, slamming his fists on his chair. All the robots in the room immediately stopped working, looking up at their boss. “We’re just going to send down a couple of ground troops, knock on their door, and demand the Chaos Emerald, everyone happy?”

“A great idea boss!” Orbot chimed. “I’ll go get the soldiers ready!” And with that, the robot floated away into another sector of the ship. Eggman crossed his arms and grumbled to himself angrily. He watched for a moment as Cubot continued to wave out various windows, trying to catch someone's attention. The Doctor rolled his eyes and rested his head on his fist.

“Honestly, I built these things? I could have done so much better!”


	4. Domo Arigato, Killer Roboto

The droning had been going on for a good ten minutes or so, and showed no sign of stopping. I stared up anxiously at the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of… something, I wasn’t quite sure what. Jacob was right, the noise, whatever it was, was directly over us, a fact I confirmed with a simple walk around the area. Yet no one could make heads or tails of it. Even when news choppers did a fly by overhead, the most interesting footage they could capture was of a stray bird suddenly dropping from the sky for a moment before flying in the opposite direction. Strange, and slightly hilarious, but of no help to us. I crossed back inside and looked at Ms. Hannigan to see if she had learned something. She was busily tapping and scrolling through her new smartphone, her fingers and eyes moving and twitching at a rapid pace.

“According to Twitter, lots of people are agreeing with Jake on this.” She reported, looking up at me briefly. “And #aliens is the trending tag in the city right now.”

“You don’t really think it’s aliens, do you?” I crossed my arms, cocking my eyebrow up at her.

“Of course not!” She replied, shooting me a dirty look. “But until we get any better ideas, this is the working theory.”

I sighed a bit and watched a window shake for a moment, allowing my thoughts to wander. “...Jacob said that there were videos of this happening in other places, didn’t he?”

“Yeah… that’s where things get weirder.” She pulled a pair of earbuds from her pocket and began to work on untangling them. “Me and Jacob pulled some up on YouTube. You’ll want to hear this…” She swiftly plugged in the earbuds and handed them, along with phone, to me. I took a moment to admire the cutting edge phone, a testament to our tech-savvy caretaker’s commitment to electronics and all things digital. The screen already had a video queued up, the frozen preview image depicting a street in a suburban area around twilight. I placed the high-end earbuds into my ears, amazed at how quiet the world became, and pressed play. Immediately, a strange, almost electronic sound filled my ears as the video came to life. A man, sounding to be in his 40s, began talking as best he could over the noise.

“Nope, no plane in sight.” He said, his southern voice eaten up by the echoey hum. He kept talking every now and then to one of his neighbors, but it was largely indistinct. All in all, however, the situation seemed very similar, except for one thing: The sound in the video was different from ours. While ours sounded like someone was flying a jet over the home, the video noise sounded more ethereal and surreal. I looked down at the recommended videos and selected a similar looking one, titled “Strange noise over Atlanta.” Similar concept, though this time out on a farm with a woman. Same noise as the other one. I looked up at Ms. Hannigan.

“Are all the videos like that?” I asked, yelling a bit accidentally. Ms. Hannigan nodded as I removed the earbuds. “So that proves it then, we’re not dealing with what everyone else thought. No aliens, the sounds are completely different.”

“Then what is it?”

I was admittedly at a loss for words. My mouth hung open slightly as I tried to come up with any sort of theory or explanation, but the only image I could conjure up were of little green men with large black eyes. I helplessly shrugged my shoulders. “Not aliens…?”

“Well, until we’ve gotten proof otherwise, we can’t discount the crazy.”

“But Ms. Hannigan-”

“Sherlock Holmes said ‘Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.’” Ms. Hannigan smiled softly before turning back to her phone. “This whole situation is weird, so there could be a weird solution.”

“Okay, but like, weird like a drone hooked up to a loudspeaker, not-”

“No matter how improbable Josh.” She looked up over her phone with slightly mischievous eyes. She pushed her hands forward, looking like the guy from the “Aliens” meme for a moment, before heading back into the Twitter-verse or wherever she was looking. I stared at her blankly for a moment before walking back upstairs, listening as the noise got slightly louder. Definitely sounded like jet engines… and yet somehow they didn’t. I let my mind scroll through anything I could think of that sounded similar as I pushed open the door to our room. Jacob was resting against the wall, his earbuds plugged in and most likely blasting loud music. I frowned a bit as I crossed the room and gently removed one of the buds.

“You doing ok?” I put my hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. His blue eyes regarded me distractedly for just a moment before looking back out the window.

“That bird on the news wasn’t just a weird fluke.” He said. “There’s been two more in the past five minutes that just-” He smashed a fist into his other hand before letting it drop while whistling.

“Really?” I knelt slightly, looking up into the sky. Jacob pointed to another bird that was flying in our direction. We watched as the avian suddenly stopped and dropped out of the sky a few feet before flying in the opposite direction.

“There’s something up there… something physical.” He said distractedly, squinting as if he was trying to make out whatever it was. “...This is a little more advanced than what the military have I think…” I paused for a moment, realizing that the aliens theory was suddenly sounding more and more realistic as I squinted as well. There was no shimmer, no glint of light against the sun, nothing to indicate that there was something above us, only the sound of droning.

“Military?” I repeated. “Really?”

“They have cloaking tech, just not at this level I don’t think.” Jacob shrugged a bit. “Any theories from downstairs?”

“Ms. Hannigan is thinking aliens.” I replied, looking back down at Jacob. “Next, someone’s gonna tell me that the sky is falling.” Jacob chuckled a bit.

“At this point, anything’s possible.” Jacob replied, moving away from the window. “Still feeling creeped out?” I did a quick check of my body. My palms were still slick, my heart was still thumping just a bit harder than it should. I was still feeling “creepy.”

“Do you think it’s dangerous?” I asked as quietly as I could over the noise as I crossed back to my bed and sat down. Jacob shrugged.

“Let’s ask Ms. Hannigan to get everyone out.” He replied. “Just in case.” He stared blankly for a few minutes more before going to our shared closet and pulling out his Chaos Emerald. He took it everywhere with him, like a security blanket or a stuffed animal. He couldn’t quite explain why it brought him comfort whenever I asked him about it, the best answer I got being it made him “feel powerful.” I eyed the large lump that it formed in his pocket, knowing that I would have to help him break the attachment before school started, though, how to do that was beyond me. I told him to go to grief counseling like I was, but he would have none of it. He kept insisting he was fine, he was tough and he could handle it. I didn’t quite understand why… but couldn’t help but feel like it had to do with me, and how weak and depressed I was after… _ it _ happened.

Jacob quickly left the room, to alert Ms. Hannigan, while I stayed for a moment longer, watching a seagull face plant into the invisible wall above our house. I couldn’t help but stifle a chuckle as I walked out the door and back down the stairs, passing Ms. Hannigan on the way down.

“Make sure you guys get out to our meeting place, you know where to go.” She told me as she passed.

“Of course.” I said back as I pressed myself to the wall to allow her a little more room to pass. I made my way to the front door, before I saw Jacob, looking out the window at something. “What’s up?  
“Dude, there’s some guys in giant robot suits out there, it’s so cool!” He exclaimed as he crossed from the window on the left to the right side of the door. He opened the door up and yelled to them, waving his hand. I chuckled.

“We’re in the middle of an evacuation and you’re focusing on a bunch of nerds in costume.” I shook my head a bit as I looked out at the robot costumes. I had to admit, they were very well made, almost looking exactly like real metal! Even their movements looked mechanical, each heavy-looking leg stomping down with an appropriate metallic thudding sound. I’d have to ask them how they managed to do that later.

“Why are they here?” Jacob asked, looking up at me. I shrugged.

“They probably want to be on the news.” I said, motioning towards the news crews at the end of the street. They were all speaking frantically, almost panicked. I squinted a bit, watching one point towards us. “Why aren’t they getting closer?” I mused.

“Um, Josh?” Jacob tugged my arm a bit before pointing down the path leading to the house. The two “robots” were walking up the path, letting us get a good look at their fronts. They stood taller than me, and basically looked like a giant steel ball with a square on top and two glowing red lights for eyes stuck to the square. It’s arms and legs looked like two rectangles joined by a hinge, with their big bulky hands and squared feet sprouting out of a hole at the end of their blocky limbs. They were almost completely red, aside from a few various-colored buttons on their chest and some yellow highlights that seemed to be added for decoration. I put on my most winning smile as I walked towards them.

“Hey guys, those are cool costumes but you really aren’t allowed to be on property witho-”

“GIVE US THE CHAOS EMERALD!!” One of the robots shouted in its strange, tinny, monotone voice. I flinched in surprise before I laughed a bit. The Chaos Emerald huh? I guess they were dressed as Eggman Robots

“That’s a nice sound system you got in there!” I replied. Truth be told, my ears were ringing a bit from the loud demand. “You should go show the news crews!”

“GIVE US THE CHAOS EMERALD OR WE WILL USE FORCE!” The other shouted, its voice identical to the first. I flinched back again, this time in fear, as they stepped closer. My brother moved forward, anger evident on his face.

“Ok, this has gone far enough, either you get off the property or I’m calling the police.” Jacob yelled. He looked about ready to go on a tirade as he marched forward. Until one of the robots raised their arm to the side. We watched as the hand retracted into the arm, and a small pipe popped out… that proceeded to spew fire, burning a patch in our lawn. Me and Jacob both stumbled back and ran into the house, just as Ms. Hannigan was starting to march everyone to the front door.

“Out the back, now!!” I shouted, blocking the exit. Ms. Hannigan only gave me a worried look before hurrying everyone in the opposite direction, towards the backyard. Jacob and I heard the clanking metal footsteps get closer and closer to the door as we looked out the window… we only had a few minutes before they would be right on top of us.

“What do we do now?” Jacob asked, worry evident in his voice. “They might try and get Ms. Hannigan and the kids…” The thought had crossed my mind as well, as I began to think of a solution. I looked back at Jacob.

“...They said they wanted the Chaos Emerald…” I said slowly, my mind racing. “...the one in your pocket?” I asked, looking at the lump. Jacob quickly brought the gem out of his pocket, taking a moment to stare at the dark blue gem. “...why?” I finally asked, speaking quietly as we ducked out of sight of the robots.

“Does it matter?” Jacob hissed. “It’s just a bunch of crazy cosplayers wanting to roleplay, we have bigger problems!” Jacob pointed to the back door. “We have to keep those things away from everyone else!” I turned my head back to the window… the robot’s were nearly at our door.

“...We could totally outrun them, right?” I asked, looking at Jacob out of the corner of my eye. Jacob gave an affirmative nod.

“Those suits don’t let them move very fast… I think we’ll be ok.” He moved towards the door. “They just want this, right?” He looked at me, holding the gem up.

“Yup.” I affirmed. “...now, you seriously just got this from a knick knack store, right?” I stared my brother down, looking for any of his tells. I had gotten really good at knowing when he was lying.

“Yeah… I mean, the garbage can in the back of the knick knack store, but yeah.” Jacob shrugged. I shook my head in disgust. He was unbelievable sometimes… but he wasn’t lying. Explains how he was able to get that thing while he didn’t have a job.

“Ok… here we go…”

* * *

Time slowed to a crawl as we burst out the front door, shoving past the two robots… but just like we planned, we made it past them, putting considerable distance between them and us.

What we hadn’t planned on was that they were much faster than they looked. Sure, on foot, they were about as fast as a fat lady on a jazzy at Wal-Mart… but then you have to factor in that they had jet packs. We heard the whine of the engines starting up before we turned to look back. The heavy, bulky things suddenly lifted off the ground. They started slowly flying towards us, but picking up speed as momentum began to carry them forward. We both reacted immediately, sprinting forward as fear pumped adrenaline through our systems.

“Turn a corner!” Jacob shouted, pointing to a cross street. “Maybe they’ll slow down!” We both rounded the corner and, sure enough, we saw the robot’s relentless pace slow… but not by much. They were picking up speed again, getting closer and closer to grabbing us.

“Call the police!” I yell as we turn yet another corner.

“My phone’s at home!” He yelled back. I groaned and reached into my pocket, pulling my own cell phone out. I punched in 911 and put the phone to my ear. It rang for what felt like eternity.

“911, please state your emergency!”

“Two guys are chasing us, we need help now!”

The operator seemed a bit startled for a moment before speaking again. “Are they chasing you right now?!”

“Yes, they are literally on our tail, they are using jet packs!”

“J-Jet… hold on, can you tell me your location?”

I look around, unfamiliar with the area. I finally spot a road sign. “Turning left onto Hartford Drive.”

“They don’t know which way is left, we’re heading East!” Jacob yelled as we rounded yet another corner. The robots were getting closer… and I didn’t know if I could keep running.

“Ok, listen to me!” The operator spoke calmly. “Take a left at the next crossing and see if you can hide behind the small convenience store on the corner.”

I nod. “Left buddy, go!” We sprint left, trying to go as quickly as we can. We see it, the small store, with a tiny alley next to it that we can squeeze into, a space too small for the robots. I grab Jacob’s hand and pull him towards the little store, as we shimmy our way through the small alley. I turn and look back in time to see the robots fly past… I let out a soft sigh… I bring the phone up to my ear as we come out of the alley to the back of the building. We rest against the wall, panting.

“...t-they’re gone.” I say quietly to the operator.

“Good, ok… we’re sending dispatch to you now. What did they look like?

“Um… you’re not gonna believe me-”

“Josh?” Jacob tugged on my arm a bit. I politely pushed his arm away.

“Hold on buddy, um… they’re dressed up in these big robot costumes-”

“Josh!”

“I’m talking to the police! So, the costumes are bulky and-”

“Josh look!!”

I growl a bit and turn to look at Jacob, ready to yell and sock him in the arm. He stared back at me, a bit wide eyed, before looking down at something glowing green in his hands.

“...i-is that… the emerald?”

“Sir, are you still there?”

I put the phone up to my ear again. “Y-Yeah yeah, just… one sec…” I slowly lowered the phone again. “...How are you making it do that?” My voice was a hushed whisper… I felt almost too afraid to speak, though I wasn’t sure why…

“I-I didn’t do anything…” Jacob replied, his voice much the same as mine. “...feel it…!” I carefully reached my hand out. No sooner did my fingers brush the gem did I feel a sudden surge of… something within me. I can’t explain what. It was like my entire body was suddenly on high alert. My heart rate sped up, my breathing quickened, and the whole world seemed like a possible threat. I drew my hand back hastily, the feeling quickly going away.

“D-Drop that thing, now!” I ordered quietly, rubbing my hand.

“...do you think this is the real deal?” Jacob asked, looking up at me again.

“No… no way. Sonic isn’t real.” I said firmly. I stared down at the gem again, glowing in Jacob’s hands. “...it… it isn’t…” Hesitantly, I reached my hand out again. My fingers trembled as they gently touched down on the Emerald’s top. Immediately, that same intense feeling rocketed through my system. I couldn’t think of anything that could give that kind of sensation, save maybe a drug. “...so what if it is? Can it help us?” I asked as I pulled my hand away. Jacob slowly nodded.

“Chaos Control.” His voice sounded almost reverent as he spoke. “It can teleport us anywhere we want… usually Sonic needs all seven Chaos Emeralds, but I know it’s possible to go short range with just one.”

Our heads snapped up as we heard a familiar whirring coming our way again.

“...ok, sure, let’s give it a shot!” I said quickly. I placed my entire hand on top of the Emerald. “What do you do?”

“Think of a place where we could be safe, then we both gotta say Chaos Control.” He instructed.

“Ok, let’s… think of our old house.” I reply, checking behind him. The driveway across from us had two shadows now… two big, bulky shadows, slowly clunking closer to us. Jacob nods and closes his eyes. I do the same.

“On three.” He says quietly. I picture our old white house in my mind, with the tree in the front yard that would always drop its leaves too early. “One.” Our door with faded crayon stains. The garage with a dent from when Dad accidentally pushed the gas instead of the brake. “Two.” Dad… I missed him… my eyes opened slightly as my mind wandered, bittersweet memories coming to me. I looked up in time to gaze down the barrel of a large gun. Time froze as Jacob slowly said “three” and began to yell “Chaos Control!” at the same time the gun began to whirr. I yelled and pushed him to the side as a bright flash blinded me. I felt something hit me and wrap around my body, constricting my movement as I fell to the ground. The flash died as quickly as it came, revealing me wrapped in a net, the Emerald laying inches from my face, my phone close to it, and my brother gone… My eyes scanned the area frantically as I struggled against the net. He couldn’t have gotten far! He had to still be here! I panicked more as I felt a cold hand wrap around me and pick me up, bringing me face to face with a pair of cold, red eyes.

“TARGET NEUTRALIZED.” It said in a loud voice. “CHAOS EMERALD RETRIEVED.” I turned to watch the other robot pick up the Emerald and store it into a chest cavity. Their jet packs whirred again, before I felt a blast of intense heat as fire shot out from their ports. I felt us rise into the air, slowly getting faster and faster. I watched as we started to move back towards the home, moving higher and higher into the sky.

And just as I started thinking to myself the day couldn’t get any worse… I watched in a mix of awe and horror as a gigantic red airship started to materialize into view, whatever cloaking technology it was hiding behind slowly disappearing. I saw the tiny bodies of the media people having a panic attack as their cameras all shot up, the reporters flapping their arms and probably trying to describe the impossible scene unfolding before them. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the situation myself as we drew closer and closer to the behemoth craft. As my eyes frantically scanned the airship, they locked onto one thing, a white logo that stood out proudly along the side of the ship. A round face, two white, empty eyes, a wide, toothy smile, and a large mustache jutting out from either side of the slightly pointed nose. I shook my head, my own brain refusing to accept what my eyes could clearly see, logic still trying to parse a possible explanation. But as we entered the dark shadow of the red ship, moving upwards to the landing platform of the larger than life aircraft, I started to accept the impossible, ridiculous, and almost hilarious truth…

I was being kidnapped by a guy named after my breakfast yesterday.

* * *

As soon as we entered the ship, my two, large kidnappers handed me to two, smaller “wardens,” I guess. I’d seen these models of robots many times when Jacob played his games, they seemed to be the standard “easy-to-beat” baddie, like those little brown Goombas in Mario. These lackies were only about chest height to me, round red balls essentially, with a slightly more curved dome to make a head. Two glowing blue eyes, and a row of glowing blue “teeth” were separated by a sharp yellow spike, making a sort of “nose.” Their shoulders, hands, and feet were all made from the same, bulky red material as their bodies, but were attached by what looked like rubber hosing or some kind of black, bendable material. They wouldn’t have even registered as a threat, were it not for the comically large red and yellow guns they held in their hands. I felt one poke me in the back with the point of the gun, urging me forward. I quickly obeyed. We walked down cold, dimly lit corridors, the tinny sound of metal feet on metal flooring and the whirring of servos the only sounds made.

“...where are you taking me?” I tried my best to sound tough, authoritative. The robots simply pushed me forward again. “...so what, you aren’t going to talk to me?” The two ignored my question once again. They either couldn’t or wouldn’t talk, which did nothing to calm my nerves. My heart was beating so hard I could almost hear it, I felt myself sweating through my shirt. I was in big trouble.

We walked for ages down corridor after corridor. We’d occasionally go up or down some stairs, turn through a door or around a corner, but beyond that, there was no real way to tell where we were on the ship, where we were going, how far we were. I guess it made sense… no need for signs if the robots could just download a map into their CPU or whatever you call it.

I suddenly became aware that mine were the only footsteps echoing in the hall. I turned to see my two robotic escorts kneeling on the ground, almost locking themselves down. I barely had time to register any confusion before I heard a loud whirring coming from somewhere beneath us. A moment later and the whole ship suddenly lurched, sending me stumbling backwards and falling on my rear, skidding a few feet back. I rubbed my sore behind as I tried to regain my balance. It took me a couple of seconds to realize what was going on… the ship was moving, and it was moving quickly. I looked back at the guards, who were still crouched, strange whirring sounds coming from their bodies… maybe they were recalibrating. My eyes went a bit wide. It was my chance to run…

I took off down the hall as quickly as I could, hearing the guards panic behind me. I could feel the ship’s momentum working against me, slowing my movement some as I sprinted forward. I risked a look over my shoulder to see the two red robots gaining on me, their feet pounding the floor. I ducked my head and pushed harder, quickly turning a corner. I clipped the wall as I turned, making me stumble somewhat, but I kept running… it was all I could do. But I slowed as I realized there was no way to get off the ship, Jacob was probably not here, and I knew this ship about as well as I knew my way around Area 51… which, for all intents and purposes, this might as well have been. I shook my head a bit and turned another corner, putting on the gas again. It didn’t matter. If they were going to take me, I would sure as heck make sure it wasn’t easy for them.

Unfortunately, it had been a while since I had gone running… I already felt my lungs burn. I faltered a bit and slowed my sprint to a more lenient jog… hoping that, maybe the bots weren’t any faster than a moderate shamble or a brisk walk. I looked behind me. No sign of them. I couldn’t quite hear them either, which, for my sake, meant they were either far behind me, or had given up. I slowed more to a quiet, stealthy walk and started to look around for something that could be of use. A phone, an escape pod, an undo button, anything. Every door I came to, I peeked inside. Sometimes I would arrive at some kind of control room or security room (though I couldn’t access anything, all of the buttons were locked under glass…). Other times it looked like a workshop with dozens of parts scattered about. Once, I even found a weapons locker room type thing… but all the guns were in cages. Mostly, the doors just contained janitors closets. I guess with all those robots, you get a lot of oil leaks or something… I considered arming myself with a broom… but quickly realized that was dumb. There was no way a simple broom would do anything against a steel robot. Only an idiot would even try.

It felt like hours had passed as I continued to sneak my way around the large airship. It could have been much more, I had no way of knowing. The only light came from industrial bulbs strung along the ceiling, and if there was a clock, I missed all 52 of them that I’d imagine would be in every big room I checked. I was getting tired, I was cold, and, since I had some time to think, I was getting more and more anxious about what had happened to my little brother. If everything had gone well, he should be back at our old house… but some little feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that something had screwed up. “Or someone…” I found myself thinking. I probably wasn’t all that wrong. If I had been paying closer attention, then maybe I could have seen the bots in time and had us hurry and hide. Or maybe if I had pulled him away.

I shook my head, gently slapping my cheeks. Of course he was fine. He teleported, which means he went back to our house. Maybe. Most likely. Possibly. Probably. ...right?

I caught myself twisting my shirt in my hands. I needed to find him. To see him. To know he’s ok. We had been separate loads of times before, but… this was truly the first time I actually felt apart from him. I started to tear up as a dark, eerie, and very familiar feeling start to creep into me.

I quickly wiped my eyes. “He’s not dead.” I whispered to myself. It became a montra as I snuck this way and that way down the halls. What was I even looking for…? An escape pod, best case scenario… or an unlocked control room… or something… I peeked around what felt like the thousandth corner today, and finally saw something different… stairs. I felt my heart skip a beat, this was progress! I carefully made my way up the metal stairs, listening for any footsteps that weren’t my own. The top didn’t bring much as far as changes in sceneries went, but I was thrilled to find another flight leading up right next to me. I turned and continued up, finally feeling a bit more confident that maybe I could make it out of here. The second flight of stairs led to a third, then a fourth, and if my legs weren’t burning before, they certainly were now. It wasn’t until a fifth flight that I finally noticed a change in surroundings. The walls had turned from a dingy grey to a cherry red, the rather dull floor turned to white tiling, and I could swear that there were a couple of couches or chairs in the distance off to my right. I shook my head a bit before turning and marching up yet another flight of stairs. I was gasping for air now, actually needing to pull myself up with the railing. The only reason I didn’t stop for a break was the thought of my little brother alone in the big bad world. Standing outside our old house, or maybe someplace worse, and wondering where I was, what I was doing.

Sixth… seventh… My mouth was dry, I was tasting metal for some reason, and I swear I was starting to see stars. There was no way I was going to last much longer. I grunted and finally let myself sit down on the top of the steps, softly gasping for air… Jacob could wait for just a few seconds while I caught my breath. I needed to be in top form if I wanted to avoid getting caught again. I took a look down the hallway, keeping my head on a swivel, listening for anything suspicious. As I gazed down at the seemingly unending row of doors, a burning curiosity began to grow inside me… what made this place so different? I slowly stood and made my way to the first door I could find. Locked. As was the next one, and the one after that.

I sat down on a cherry red chair, giving my “slightly” aching legs a chance to rest. The corridor still stretched forward, almost endlessly it seemed. I sighed softly and looked down at my knees. “...hold on buddy…” I whispered quietly. “...I’m coming… just hang on for a second more…” I shook my head a bit and stood back up, continuing my trek down the hall. 

I had to have gone up at least 5 more floors, and nothing changed between any of them. Every door I tried locked, either by a deadbolt or electronically. I had spent hours searching, with nothing to show for my labors. Whatever Eggman was hiding, he was insistent that no one discovered it. I sank into another chair, holding my head in my hands. At this rate, I would never make it back to Jacob, let alone make it off the ship.

“No,” I lightly smacked my cheeks and stood back up, bouncing a bit. I started to dance a bit, hyping myself up by singing what could barely be considered a song. “You can’t think like that, you are getting out of here, you’re gonna find Jakie, cuz you can do anything you set your mind t-”

The sound of metal on tile cut me off as I scurried behind a chair, looking down the hall. The stomping got louder before I saw what was making the noise… more of those round robots from earlier. They were running, which honestly looked a bit goofy, more like they were constantly tripping on something, as they took off down the hall. Except for one, one robot in the front that looked different than all the others. It was a monkey, if monkeys had robot arms and a yellow sirens on their heads. But beyond that, it looked relatively not robotic, healthy brown fur, lively eyes (albeit beady looking ones), it even wore a little yellow jumpsuit.

“There he is!” The monkey shrieked in a slightly high-pitched voice. There was a slightly tinny echo to it that reminded me that, yes, this little monkey was in fact a robot. I quickly jumped up from my hiding spot and started to run in the opposite direction, only to run into into another small army of robots, this one consisting of just the round red ones. I stopped, my eyes darting around for any escape route, any way I could shove past them and bolt out of there. I must have hesitated for a bit too long though… I felt two hands grab my wrists and pull them together behind me before snapping something on both of them. I struggled to pull my wrists apart, to find them clasped firmly together. I felt something else, something that felt suspiciously like a gun barrel, poke into my back. “Alright intruder,” the monkey pressed the barrel harder into my skin. “Start walking.”


	5. Across Enemy Lines

It was a slightly odd feeling, being the prisoner of a bunch of short, tin people. I could easily see over the heads of my robotic captors as I was marched up even more stairs. My legs felt like they would give way at any minute as we climbed what were, by my count, 16 flights of stairs and at least 5 more half sets, plus a couple of random single steps scattered throughout a couple of the long corridors. But we finally made it up to a large room, where dozens of the little robots dashed from one place to another, checking panels, adjusting levers, pushing buttons, all sorts of busy tasks. The room dropped about a quarter of the way through to reveal a sort of pit, full of even more screens, buttons, levers, and worker-bots, all of them busily attending to their various tasks. A large pane of glass covered the entire front of the room, almost like a windshield on a car, showing what I can only describe as dozens and dozens of stars whizzing past us. And over it all, on a slightly raised platform, was a large red chair, matching the hue of the rest of the room. Though its back was to us, I felt a shiver run down my spine, knowing who was most likely sitting in it.

“Excuse me, who is this?” A soft, polite voice asked from somewhere in front of us. I stood on my toes, trying to see who spoke, but stopped as I felt the gun barrel press a bit harder into my back.

“Caught this kid poking around down below. He’s an intruder!” The monkey pushed me forward a bit, the crowd of robots parting to make room for us. They revealed yet another red robot standing at the front. Well, standing wasn’t very accurate… it was hovering above the ground somehow, it was honestly really cool to watch. The robot looked like someone built it out of Tinker Toys, it’s arms and main body were all just a bunch of black sticks connected to round joints. It’s head was a red half-sphere, with two blue eyes and more of those blue teeth, and it’s bottom was the bottom half of the sphere, albeit in black. It’s large red hands were clasped together in front of it as it stared at me curiously… I think. It didn’t really show any expression. It looked like it was about to speak, but a sudden jolt from the ship stopped it. I watched as the stars disappeared to be replaced by blue sky and white clouds… it was almost like when someone disengaged from hyperdrive in Star Wars.

“Well done.” The floating robot finally said. “He’s a funny looking thing, isn’t he?” I wasn’t sure why, but I felt a blush creep onto my face. I looked down, avoiding eye contact… “Well I’m sure the boss will be happy to hear this! Come on!” I felt myself being pushed by the monkey once again, this time towards the giant chair. I stared up… even if it was just the back of the chair, I started to feel a sense of trepidation slowly creeping up my spine. I knew who would be sitting in it.

The chair was tall. I don’t just mean like a couple of inches taller than me, I mean a full couple of feet tall. If you include the platform it rested on, I would have to guess it was at least 3 or 4 feet taller than me. I felt myself tremble as I tried to imagine the figure that rested just beyond the cherry red plastic back of the chair. The gangly sphere robot cleared its throat.

“Boss, we’ve got a prisoner here if you’d like to take a look.” He gestured to me in a sort of “ta-da” fashion, and I could almost swear he was smiling despite his ability to form any expression. There was a slight shuffling sound, and I could see a pair of shiny black boots shuffle below the chair. Slowly, the chair turned, revealing bit by bit the owner’s profile. First his nose, long (very long), angular, with a point so sharp you could poke holes with it. His portly body next, vested in a red coat with yellow buttons. His large bushy mustache that shot from out of each nostril, measuring at least 2 feet long total. He brought a pair of white gloved hands to his lips, pressing his fingertips together and crossing his slender legs, made even more slender in the black leather pants he was wearing. He stared at me, examining me from head to toe, his eyes unreadable behind his dark spectacles. I may not know by heart the names of every character from the Sonic games, but I knew this man’s name well: Dr. Eggman.

After what seemed to me like hours, the Doctor finally spoke. His voice was low, and gravely, as if he was literally gargling gravel as he spoke. “Who is this?” He asked, turning to look at the spherical bot.

“It’s our prisoner.” The robot looked at me and lowered his hands. “It looks like he was trying to guard the emerald, so the ground forces took him as prisoner to prevent any resistance.” Dr. Eggman stared at the orb robot for a while more before sighing and reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“...Does he look like he’ll cause trouble?” He asked, sounding very tired all of a sudden. The orbed robot looked at me again, then looked at the monkey behind me, then to the mass of red robots behind him. He looked back at the Doctor and shrugged. “I just wanted the Emerald. I never asked for anyone to take any prisoners.” He turned back to me, relaxing a bit and shaking his head. His voice took on a different tone, something light and conversational. “I’m sorry about all of this… Good help is hard to find these days.”

I found myself just staring back up at him, my ears hearing but not really understanding. I’m pretty sure my mouth was hanging open a bit as well. Eggman regarded me a bit funnily for a moment. “...you can speak, yes?” He asked. I quickly shut my mouth and nodded.

“Y-Yes, yes sir, I can!” I quickly replied. He chuckled, a rather ugly sounding thing, and shook his head.

“You don’t need to be nervous, I won’t hurt you!” He exclaimed as he stood and shooed away the other robots. It took me by surprise how tall he really was compared to me. Even as he stepped off his podium, I only reached to about his midriff. It was slightly unsettling, looking up into this villains glasses and having him smile down at me. “This is just an error in communication… which will be fixed shortly.” He shot a look at the small army of robots behind us, who all simultaneously flinched. He stared back down at me, smiling once again. “I’m really sorry about all of this, but don’t worry. I’ll take you home just as soon as I succeed in my plans!” The way he spoke just made it sound like I had accidentally taken the wrong train somewhere, not just been through what could easily be the second most traumatic experience of my life. Ut I just found myself nodding again as I stared up at him. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “...not much of a talker are you?” He didn’t give me much time to respond before continuing on. “It’s no matter! In fact, I could use someone like you to give me a hand. Would you mind terribly?” He clasped his hands together, looking like he was begging… it seemed almost childish in a way.

I know I probably should have said no. He was supposed to be a villain after all, why would I help him? But in the moment, all I could do was continue nodding, like a stupid bobblehead. The Doctor seemed thrilled, placing a large hand on my back and whisking me out of the room and down a few hallways. I was dragging my feet so much you could almost hear my shoes constantly skidding across the floor.

“I want to show you my latest creation!” He said excitedly. “It’s rare I get to show my things to other  _ sentient  _ people!” Why was I going along with this? Why wasn’t I trying to resist? If Jacob were here, he would have been punching and kicking, and here I was, agreeing to help this guy. I felt my heart drop a bit… I could almost sense my little brother’s disappointment in me, almost hear him saying to me “What are you doing? You need to stop him!”

And yet… as I looked up at him, watching him giggle and mutter excitedly to himself, I had to stop and wonder. This is hardly how a villain acted. He almost seemed happy that I was there and willing to have some company. Could I be wrong about him? Maybe he isn’t as bad a person as the games had made me believe he was...

We rounded a corner and turned sharply, walking through a door. And just like that, all my doubts left me.

Inside the room was a large, silver pillar covered in wires, lights and buttons, connected to seven large tanks that looked to be filled with gases of various colors. It was simple, rather rudimentary, looking just like something you’d expect to see in a cartoon. But the sudden pound of my heart, the sweat forming on my palms… this thing was causing my creepy senses to go haywire, to the point where I even began to feel a bit light headed. I could only stare, transfixed in sheer terror.

“Now, in a few minutes, I’m going to be having a little rendezvous with a certain nemesis of mine.” He explained to me as he eagerly pressed a few buttons, flipped a few switches, turned some knobs… “I want to practice what I tell him so he’ll be intimidated. I usually do this in front of one of my robots, but they don’t give the best feedback.” Bobblehead, Bobblehead, Bobblehead. He cleared his throat and looked at me. “Just so you know, I’m going to call you some mean things… they are not meant for you.” He nodded at me. Bobble, bobble, bobble. He cleared his throat one last time before cackling. 

“You’re too late you miserable hedgehog!” His voice instantly took on a different tone, something much more dangerous sounding. “Everything is going according to plan! And, with the final Chaos Emerald in place, nothing will stop me!!”

Eggman cackled again and pulled something from his pocket, a yellow gem that looked almost exactly like the green one my brother had. He quickly jammed it into a socket in the pillar that seemed perfectly shaped for the Emerald. He began to cackle harder before stopping himself and looking at me. “This whole thing is going to be full of Emeralds like this one.” He said in his more relaxed tone, motioning to more sockets, six others, in the front of the machine. “Then the machine will start, the tanks will empty, bla bla bla…” He muttered, as if he were just practicing a PowerPoint for a presentation. “He’ll ask what I’m doing…” He cleared his throat and gave a short cackle to finish the one he started. “I figured out what gives the Emeralds their incredible power! Pure emotion!” He looked at the tanks, motioning to all of them. “And I’ve just injected twenty times the amount of emotion the Emeralds normally hold into them. With these, I’ll be unstoppable! I’ll destroy you, then take over all of Mobius!! OHOHOHO-”

In spite of the fact that I was there, hearing Dr. Eggman speak, feeling terrified beyond all measure, and everything that had happened before then, some part of my brain just couldn’t accept that this was real, that I was in any real danger. It’s like when you go through a haunted house, you’re terrified, but you’re willing to just go along with whatever is happening because deep down you know that it’s all just for fun, that neither you nor anyone else would get hurt.. But hearing the Doctor explain his plan made reality sink in. I could see the mania in his face, hear the utter insanity in his voice. I watched him scurry around the room, waving his arms wildly, saying something or other to me, but I couldn’t hear him anymore. All I could hear was my heart pounding in my chest.

This was a man on the edge. And he was going to take over a planet. He was real, and it looked like he could actually do it. I felt myself start to sweat a bit, felt my hands tremble. I had met some mean people, but never have I met someone who was actually, truly evil. The fact that he could hide it behind a cheerful facade, that he wasn’t trying to just kill me right off the bat somehow, made things even worse. What was funny was that this plan seemed no different than any of the other plans Eggman made in the Sonic games I watched Jacob play. But this time, we weren’t playing a game. This was real. And if someone didn’t do something, this could mean… well, I didn’t know what it could me. I didn’t want to know.

I bit my lip as I heard my brother’s voice in my head again.

“You need to stop him!”

“Uh-oh… was that bit not good?” I snapped back to focus to see Eggman mid-pose, staring at me. Normally, Sonic but be the one saving the day, but Sonic wasn’t here right now. I was. And it sounded like by the time Sonic got here, it would be too late. I needed to do something… anything…

“Oh, no, i-it was fine, I’m just a bit… confused.” I replied, doing my best to keep my voice steady. I needed to stall to come up with a plan… “This gas is… emotion?” I looked at one of the tanks, staring into the swirling green contents.

“Yes, and it took quite a while to gather enough to fill those up.” Eggman replied, sounding a bit winded as he recalled the process. “Each one contains pure concentrations of emotions everyone feels. For example, the blue one over there is sadness, the red one, anger, that green one you’re next to is fear, and so on and so on.” I nodded a bit.

“So… those are going to go into that rock thing you put in the machine?” I asked, pointing to the yellow Emerald as I strode over to the machine.

“Yes. That ‘rock thing’ is called a Chaos Emerald.” Eggman pulled the Emerald out of the machine and handed it to me, trusting me enough to touch and handle it apparently. “These gems hold a lot of power within them… they can allow people to do incredible things, like teleport, or gain amazing strength.” I gazed down at the yellow gem in my hands, almost entranced by the slight glow it gave off.

“...And you’re going to put all of those into this one Chaos Emerald?” I asked, trying to drag this out as much as I could. I needed to remember as much as I could from the games.

“No no, that would never work!” He replied, “Each Emerald draws its power from one specific emotion. Trying to fuel the blue Chaos Emerald with anger for example just wouldn’t work.” I nodded, though I didn’t really hear him. An inkling of a plan began to form… I needed to get him to leave the room.

“...can I see them…?” I asked sheepishly. “I mean… this one is just so pretty looking and… well, I want to see what they look like while they’re in the machine.”

“Well… I don’t know…” Eggman rubbed the back of his head… he looked torn between wanting to keep the Emeralds safe and wanting to show off to his new passenger… I could work with this.

“Aw, please?” I made my best puppy dog eyes, a tactic I had gotten good at after years of having to compete with a little brother. “I bet your big machine looks so cool with all of them in it!”

Eggman took just a few seconds to crack. “...alright.” He relented with a smile and turned. I looked back at the tanks… this was my chance. I could use the Emerald I had to break them open and release the gasse- “Here they are!” Eggman turned around again, carrying a cardboard box with “Emeralds” crudely written on the front in marker. There went that plan. Eggman immediately began placing Emeralds into the machine, one after the other. My mind raced, trying to come up with something… I could try to use Chaos Control, but that would leave Eggman with all seven Emeralds, and even I could tell you that would be a no-no… not to mention Jacob would kill me if he found out I let Eggman win. I had to destroy the machine, but how…?

Wasn’t there a Sonic game Jacob had where the main guy could make explosions? But… it wasn’t a Sonic game...

“There, what do you think?” Eggman waved a hand at the machine, now stuffed full of the other Chaos Emeralds: Green, Blue, Turquoise, Red, Purple, and a Whitish-Grey. I nodded, going to automatic bobble head mode again. The game wasn’t about Sonic, it was about another hedgehog, Shadow… and yes, he could make explosions in the game I think… Chaos Blast or something...

“It looks amazing…!” What if the explosion wasn’t big enough to do any damage though? “But what if that hedgehog guy you were talking about tries to destroy it? Like blow it up or something?”

“I’ve built this machine to be virtually indestructible!” Eggman smiled widely. “Not even the power of a Chaos Emerald could destroy it!” He chuckled before adding, “Unless it was already supercharged I suppose…” I still wonder if this was a Freudian Slip or some bizarre, real-life version of Deus Ex Machina, but at the time, I considered it a miracle. If I activated the machine and used the supercharged Emeralds...

Well… it was risky… but I at least had a plan. I acted almost on instinct, my hand shooting forward and jamming the Emerald into the machine. Eggman didn’t react immediately as the machine turned on, the lights in the room flickered, and a loud hissing sound filled the area. The gas began to drain, flowing through pipes into the machine, the Emeralds glowing brighter and brighter. And all the while, Eggman only stared, for at least three seconds, before reeling back and letting out a shriek.

“W-What are you doing?!” He yelled as he tried to yank out one of the Emeralds. It held fast within its confines… looks like it wasn’t supposed to come out until the process ended. “We’re supposed to wait until Sonic gets here, you’re ruining my menacing monologue!!” I didn’t respond, watching the tanks slowly empty until there was nothing left. As soon as I saw Eggman fly back, the Emerald he held popping out of it’s slot, I grabbed the yellow Emerald back. It felt different in my hand… it was almost vibrating, as if the energy it contained was trying desperately to get out. “P-Put that back in!” Eggman yelled, pointing to me as he stood back up. “We need to drain them out again.”

I stared back at him, clutching the Emerald to me tightly. My heart was racing, adrenaline pumping through my body. Everything was moving so fast… there was just one more thing to do. I took a deep breath and conjured up an image of an explosion in my head.

“Chaos Blast.”

The Emerald shook as it grew blindingly bright. I felt energy course into my body through my hands, filling every part of me, until it felt like I was glowing. Then, in a sudden rush, all the energy emptied out of me. The world around me went white, and a loud explosion made my ears ring. It was all I could hear as vision returned. I felt weak, almost too weak to remain standing, as I looked around. Though I was seeing spots, I could see that the room was damaged beyond repair. The glass tanks were in shards on the ground, the large pillar was snapped in two, half of it lying on its side, teetering on the edge of a large hole I had blown in the wall, showing the blue sky outside… the wind tore at me, threatening to suck everything out of the large ship. I looked around a bit more and saw Eggman, slumped in a corner of the room, dazed, but still alive from the looks of it.

It took a moment to regain my senses, but I couldn’t help but feel a small sense of pride in me as I looked around the wreckage. I did this… I ruined Eggman’s plans. I just saved the world. I felt myself smile just a bit before focusing back on my task. The job wasn’t done yet. The Emeralds… I had to get rid of the Emeralds. They were scattered here and there, but I quickly gathered them up in my arms. They all clinked and clattered against each other, each one vibrating slightly, just like the yellow one. I stared down at the colorful hoard of gems I carried, admiring their beauty for a moment. They were surprisingly light, each surface completely smooth to the touch, unmarred by the rather violent explosion I had created. I had never seen a perfect gem like this before, one of such rare beauty and power… and hopefully, I never would again. I went over to the new hole I had created and stared out, careful not to get too close to the edge. I looked down at the ground before staggering back, unconsciously letting out a squeaky whimper. I figured we had to be high up but… this took vertigo to a whole new level. I don’t think I’d even been in an airplane that took me up this high. Taking a deep breath, I slid a foot to the edge, careful not to look down, and swung my arms, tossing the Emeralds out. They glinted as the sunlight hit them before they fell, gravity pulling them down to the world below. I closed my eyes a bit, panting, realising just how exhausted I was… that Chaos Blast must have taken quite a bit out of me. I slowly turned to make my way back to the ship, hoping to now find an escape pod.

Eggman was awake. And he looked pissed.

He began to march towards me, and I suddenly found myself frozen. He was saying something, but I couldn’t quite hear him due to my ears still ringing, though I could easily guess. He got closer and closer… panic began to well up in me. I could make out two words on his lips as he balled his fists up.

“Destroy you.”

I was dead. 

I was so dead. 

My heart began to pound again, harder than before. I wanted to move back, to get away from Eggman, but I was right up against the edge of a long fall with a very quick stop. Neither was looking like a great option. My eyes scanned the room for some escape, but I realized it was pointless. Even if I got around him, which I probably could, there was a ship-full of his robot henchmen out there that would stop at nothing to find me. There was no escape for me here… my choices were to get killed at the hand of a mad scientist, or jump and hope it wouldn’t hurt too badly.

I had wondered one time what it would feel like if you knew you were going to die. I wondered if maybe you just felt calm, full of acceptance. I assure you… it was nothing like that. My head hurt. My hands felt clammy. My mouth was dry, it was hard to swallow. I couldn’t move. And the whole time, I found myself only saying “I’m sorry.” Mostly to Jacob. Telling him that I was sorry I couldn’t get to him. Sorry we were going to be separated forever. Sorry that he would have to grow up alone. I couldn’t move… I couldn’t breath…

The ship suddenly shook violently and pitched forward, causing us both to stumble. Eggman fell to the ground a few feet from me. I felt my foot slip, and on reflex, I moved my other, stepping back to try to regain my balance. I found only air. I felt myself fall back, my hand flailing to grab onto something that wasn’t there. It’s an odd feeling, falling, knowing nothing is going to catch you. You know that feeling when you’re walking up stairs in the dark, and you think there’s one more stair when there isn’t, so it just falls a foot before hitting the ground? That’s what this felt like… except it didn’t just feel like that for a few seconds. 

People always talk about this moment by saying it goes in slow motion, or their life flashed before their eyes. Neither of those happened. The fall was fast, terrifyingly so. I was uncontrollably backflipping through the air, falling without any sense of control. First I saw the ship, then the ground, then the ship again, though a lot smaller this time, then the ground again, though a lot bigger this time, then the ship… I shut my eyes. I didn’t want to know…

I guess I was crying. I’m pretty sure I was screaming. Someone even told me later that I had wet myself. I couldn’t really tell you. The only clear thought I could even muster was that I was dying. My mind couldn’t even process it really. To my brain, death had only been a concept, not my reality. I guess that’s why it started to shut down… it just couldn’t handle the truth.

Now, if you’ve known anyone that has ever passed out, they will tell you, it’s not a pleasant feeling. It’s not like falling asleep, where you don’t realize it happened until you wake up the next morning. You are aware of everything that happens. I felt dizzy, both from the prospect of being a splatted mess on the ground and from the sheer sensation of falling. I started to feel my eyes roll back into my head. I even felt like I wanted to puke. The ringing in my ears began to fade as the world around me slowly turned dark.

The last thing I could remember for sure was feeling like a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around me and held onto me tightly. A slight warmth filled me before everything went black.


	6. The Animals Talk Here

….

….

….

…. 

“Hello?”

“Yes, we need you to come to the hospital right away.”

He felt his world shut down, an icy shiver crept down his spine as the world seemed to simultaneously spin and close in on him. The room began to contort and change, the cabinet shrinking down, stretching out, and splitting to turn into two hospital gurneys, the microwave twisting and squishing as it turned into a heart rate monitor, and his pizza melting and bubbling and turning red until it turned into-

He had to look away. He prayed that someone would take it away. He counted to ten before slowly turning back. He was in a hospital room now. Two beds lay in front of him, with two bodies laying on top, covered with two white sheets. He couldn’t see the faces, but he knew who they were.

“Can you please identify them?”

He slowly shook his head. “Please don't make me do this.”

“We just need you to look, very quickly.”

He shook his head again. He couldn't look. Not again.

“Please. We just need a positive ID.”

He did his best to swallow past the lump that had formed in his throat as he slowly made his way to the first gurney. His hand trembled as he reached toward the sheet covering the body. He began to sweat profusely. He didn’t want to look. He couldn’t bear to see it.

He gripped the top of the white fabric. He tried his best to calm his nerves. Just one quick look. Slowly, he began to peel the fabric back. He saw the hair… there was no doubt.

“It’s him.” He said.

“Please just look at the face.”

He turned back to the corpse. He felt tears gather in his eyes. He didn’t want to see this. He decided he needed to get it over with quick.

He ripped the sheet back, as if he were ripping off a bandage.

…………………….

My eyes shot open as I automatically began to take some calming breaths. It was dark, night time still it seemed, though, what else was new? My body trembled, but I was used to that. Tears stung my eyes, but I was used to that too. What I wasn’t used to was the dull throbbing in my head that seemed to be getting worse. I grunted a bit as I slowly sat up, turning to look at my clock on the nightstand.

Except my clock wasn’t there. Nor was my nightstand.

This wasn’t my room. It looked like I was in a hospital.

It took a second for my brain to finally kick in, but I quickly recalled everything that had happened to me. The explosion, the kidnapping, getting separated from Jacob…

Jacob…

I looked around the room, hoping for a sign that maybe my brother was somewhere nearby, that maybe he had found his way to where I was.

“...fat chance.” I thought to myself. “I can almost guarantee I’m not on Earth anymore… I’m probably light years away from him.”

It didn’t take long to conclude that my room, and my heart, was empty. I shut my eyes, feeling the tears start to slip down my cheeks now. Jacob was somewhere out there, all alone, probably wondering where I am… was he scared? Was he looking for me? Did he think I was dead? Was he in danger?

I grit my teeth. “Don’t think like that.” I yelled back at my negative side. “He knows what to do if we get separated. He has Ms. Hannigan’s cell phone number. He’s probably called her and the police by now.” I sighed a bit, letting my jaw relax. “He’s safe.”

“And alone. Like you are.”

I bit my lip to keep it from trembling as my gaze darted around in the dark room. The shadows lurched and slithered around. Things moved in the corners of my eyes. I shot my hand out in a slight panic, quickly searching for some kind of lamp or light source. It took an eternity to find a switch, but as soon as I could, I flipped it. The room was quickly bathed in a warm glow, and I was grateful that I managed to find the switch to the lamp rather than to something that could have been important. I took a few more deep breaths, and quickly wiped my tears. This wasn’t the time for moping. I needed to get out of here, then figure out how to get back to my little brother.

Though the first thing I had to do was figure out where “here” was. The room seemed like any hospital room back on Earth. My bed looked pretty standard issue, high railings along the sides with buttons on them to raise and lower certain parts of the bed, as well as a “call” button to get ahold of the nurse. Next to me was the lamp I turned on, resting on a wooden side table. A couple of chairs were drawn up next to the bed, and I noticed a couple more on the other side as well, the rest tucked neatly against the wall underneath a window. A quick glance out confirmed that, yes, it was night. Stars filled the sky, and though I couldn’t see the moon itself, I could see the light it cast. Must have been full tonight.

The rest of the room was fairly standard issue. There was a TV hanging off the baby blue wall in front of me, a wooden table beneath it, a bunch of cabinets and a sink off to the side of that, and a door leading to a personal bathroom. And who could forget the cart with all the monitors and stuff right next to me? I didn’t see too many bags of fluids, so I guess I didn’t need too many IVs. A good sign, right? I saw that my heart rate was a bit high, but was slowly going down. I followed the wire leading out from it, wondering how they were taking my pulse, before ending at my hand. I smiled… maybe I wasn’t so far from home after all. They were using that white clip thing they put on your finger, and a pretty normal looking IV inserted on the top of my hand. I sighed a bit, almost feeling myself relax… it was nice to be in a somewhat familiar place. Not that I had been to many hospitals mind you, but I had seen enough of them to know that-

The yellow Chaos Emerald was in my other hand. I frowned a bit. Had I really been hanging onto it this whole time? I lifted it towards the light to gaze at it again. Still no sign that anything had happened… the Emerald was as pristine as it ever had been before. It still seemed to tremble slightly in my grasp, but beyond that, it didn’t seem any different. I shook my head and placed it in my lap. I looked down at myself, noting that I was in a hospital gown and (after a quick check down) not much else. Granted, nothing embarassing was showing, but I still couldn’t help but feel just a bit… exposed.

I blushed a bit and tried my best to shoo the thought away as I surveyed the room again. Why was I in the hospital anyway? I shouldn’t even be alive right now, and yet… aside from what had become a rather painful headache, and another odd feeling that I could only describe as feeling “musty,” I felt fine. I tried to remember what happened during the fall… but the last thing I could remember was… well, it felt like someone had caught me… but even then, falling that fast only to be stopped by someone, that should have, at the least, broken numerous bones, in both mine and the other person’s body. I did a quick scan of my exposed limbs, looking for anything to tell me that something was wrong, and found nothing.

“...I bet the nurses know…” I muttered to myself quietly. I reached over and pressed the large red button, a small light coming on above it to let me know that they got the call and that someone would be on their way shortly. It probably only took about three minutes before the door opened and someone walked in.

Now, I had seen robots. I had seen mad doctors who towered above me. I had even seen a freaking rock create an explosion. By this point, you would think that nothing surprised me anymore. But the first time you see a dog in scrubs walk in, on two feet mind you, and address you, it takes a minute to process and take it in. And by the look on his face, he seemed just as surprised to see me, awake that is. I wasn’t sure where to look… I mean, he looked exactly like how the guys at SEGA would design a dog… his chocolate eyes were huge, his brown-furred arms and legs were thin, his gloved hands were a bit too big, his body was almost bean shaped… and yet it all looked just fine on him. I could only blink as I watched a small smile spread across his face, and his short tail began to wag behind him.

“You’re awake!” He said quietly, though it was easy to tell he was holding back a lot of excitement.

“...y-yeah…” Was all I managed to say back. It struck me that anyone else would have probably taken one look at this guy and maybe freaked out a bit more than I was doing. But… I don’t know… I guess, after having watched Jacob play so many games, seen so many Sonic characters, the way he looked was just normal to me. The nurse’s floppy ears perked up a bit as he heard my voice.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, walking towards me. He was tall. Not as tall as Eggman, but still, tall for a dog. ...Well, I guess he was taller than pretty much any dog… what I mean was that he had to have been at least five feet tall, though that’s a pretty conservative estimate. I guess whenever I imagined these guys in my head, they would usually be about two or three feet tall.

“Um… m-my head hurts…” I finally replied, trying to snap back to reality.

“Does it feel like a migraine?” He asked, sitting in one of the chairs next to my bed. I was able to read his nametag now… Chad.

“N-No, not that bad… it just hurts…” I said quietly, rubbing my temple a bit. Chad nodded and grabbed a clipboard that must have been hanging just below the bed railing, writing something down on it.

“Well, I’ll go get you something for that.” He replied, replacing the clipboard. “You feeling hungry? Thirsty?”

“...maybe just some water, if that’s ok?” I looked around a bit before looking back at Chad. “Um… w-why am I here?”

“Oh, uh… let me grab the doctor, she’ll explain it to you.” He said as he stood. “I’ll go get you that water in the meantime. Did you want ice?” I nodded my head. He gave me one last smile (if you’ve never had a dog smile at you, you’re missing out… it’s like being filled with rainbows and sunshine) before hurrying out of the room, letting the door softly shut behind him. I shuffled a bit in the bed, trying to find a more comfortable position. It didn’t take long before a yellow bird, a hawk if I had to guess, in a white coat walked in, a stethoscope around her neck. Like Chad, she seemed pleasantly surprised to see me.

“So you decided to wake up huh?” She asked, chuckling as she did. She sounded young, early twenties maybe. I briefly wondered if she was really old enough to be a doctor. “We were starting to get a bit worried there for a second.” She moved into one of the chairs. “My name’s Dr. Mallory Pincock. I was told you had some questions for me?”

“Um, y-yeah…” I stared at her for a moment, still adjusting to the whole talking animals thing. The Doctor was honestly rather pretty, if you didn’t think too hard about the fact that you were thinking about a bird in the way you’d think about a human. Her eyes were a pale blue, almost a grey, and her plumage was tied in a ponytail behind her. It didn’t really fall in the same way hair would though, it sort of stuck out.

“Well, first, I’d like to ask you a few, if you wouldn’t mind.” She said as she grabbed the clipboard again. “Like your name and date of birth?”

“Joshua, February 16th, 1996.”

“Ok, and is there anyone you’d like us to list as your contacts?”

I frowned a bit and looked down at my lap. “...No one you’d be able to reach I don’t think…” The doctor looked at me sympathetically.

“...Well, if it’s ok with you, we listed the people that brought you in as your emergency contacts, and they wanted us to call them as soon as you woke up.”

“Who brought me in?” I looked back up at her, sitting up just a bit straighter.

“Do you not remember?” She asked, putting her pen on the clipboard. I shook my head.

“Last thing I remember was falling out of an airship.” I answered. “I passed out on the way down… that’s why I wanted to talk to you, why exactly am I here?”

“What do you mean Joshua?” She asked, taking a quick note.

“I mean, I should be dead, but I feel… well, I feel-”

“Alive?” The doctor offered. “You’re quite the opposite of dead. In fact, aside from a couple of scratches, everything about you was just fine, aside from that Emerald being stuck to your hand.” She pointed her pen towards my hand only to see that the Emerald was no longer in it, now resting on my lap. Her eyes shot between me, and the Emerald. “H-How did you get it off??”

“...i-it wasn’t stuck to my hand when I pulled on it.” I replied. “It was completely normal. You mean you couldn’t get it off?”

“No, we were planning to get it surgically removed when you woke up!” She replied, gently taking my hand (after getting my permission, of course) and examining it. “...fascinating…” She muttered as she carefully examined my palm in the light. After a few more moments, she chuckled a bit. “Well, I guess I don’t need to ask for your permission to get that removed then.” She looked back up at me again. “Are you sure you didn’t do something different?”

“N-No, I just… took it out of my hand, just like anything else.” I shook my head a bit. “N-Now how did I not get hurt at all? I mean… I-I should be dead! Why am I not dead?”

I watched the hawk hesitate for a moment. “...it’s… this is a bit odd to explain…” She sighed a bit and replaced the clipboard. “The people that brought you in… they said that they saw you falling from the airship, but that by the time they got to you, you had stopped yourself from falling… sort of.” I tilted my head a bit as she continued. “They said you were just floating down slowly, like… like someone was lowering you down on a crane or something.”

This certainly left more questions than answers. “H-How?”

“We were hoping you’d be able to tell us.” She said, crossing her arms. “Has this happened before?”

“No, never…” I replied. “I’m… I don’t have any special powers or anything like that, I-” I cut myself off mid-sentence as my gaze fell on the Emerald. I picked it up and stared at it for a moment. “...I be this had something to do with this…”

Dr. Pincock stared at the gem with me for a moment before slowly standing. “...I really don’t mean to pry, I’m sorry…” She smiled at me for a bit. “Do you want to go back to sleep Joshua?”

“N-No, thank you Doctor…” I replied, smiling a bit as well. “I-If you have something to get rid of this headache though, I’d appreciate it.”

“The nurse should be ready with it as soon as I leave.” She gently rested her hand on the bed railing. “Just let me know if you need anything at all.” I nodded and gave her a quiet thank you before she walked out of the room, Chad quickly walking in to take her place, a cup of ice water and a couple pills on hand.

“I just called your emergency contacts,” He said as he handed me the cup and capsules, “They wanted to know if you were feeling well enough to accept visitors.”

I nodded my approval, and he left once again, leaving me to take my medicine in silence. I dropped the small pills into my mouth and swallowed them down, draining the cup of water as I did. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was… I set the cup on the nightstand and, after a few moments, did the same to the Chaos Emerald. I adjusted the bed so that I could sit up in it comfortably and rested my head on the pillow, sighing a bit. After everything that had happened, it was nice to finally have a slightly peaceful moment. I still felt some general unease about my brother’s situation, but felt reassured in knowing that at least he would be safe at the house. I wished I could say the same for myself… my thoughts began to turn to Eggman. Did he know where I was? Did he still want to destroy me?

I shuddered at the thought. Not only did I have to figure out how to get home, but I had to do it with a maniac on my tail who’s out for my blood. I could only pray that, whoever did manage to rescue me, had some good contacts with law enforcement or something. Or even better, if somehow these people knew Sonic the Hedgehog.

“Hey… there’s a thought,” I thought to myself, “I need to find Sonic. He knows a bunch about the Chaos Emeralds I bet, I’m sure he’ll know how I can use them to get back home.”

I won’t lie, the thought of meeting  _ the _ Sonic the Hedgehog did make me feel a bit giddy… while I wasn’t a superfan like my little brother was, I was still an admirer. Something about his mannerisms, his laid back attitude, the way he treated others… I don’t know, I guess I kinda looked up to him, wanted to be a little more like him. Or something… I don’t know, maybe I was a little bit of a superfan...

“Focus…” I said to myself. “I need to see Sonic for help, not to be a fangirl. Now, when these people get here, I’ll ask them if they know where Sonic is and how to get ahold of him, then I’ll just explain my problem, then everything will be-”

“Uh, Josh?” I looked up at Chad, who was just poking his head in from the door. “Sorry, they’re here, you ok to have them come in?”

“O-Oh, s-sure, send them in!” I nodded, quickly looking over myself to make sure I looked ok… I hadn’t seen myself in a mirror, but I was pretty sure I looked a mess. Chad nodded and spoke to my “emergency contacts” outside. I grew a bit nervous… these people saved my life, what do I tell them? A simple “thank you” just didn’t quite seem to cut it in this case… I immediately began to rehearse what I was going to say to them as I heard some soft footsteps move towards the door. “H-hi there…! U-Um, I-I just… I-I can’t tell you how grateful I a-”

My mouth remained dangling open as I saw who the emergency contacts were, or at least, who one of them was. My heart skipped a beat, my voice became caught in my throat, as I took in my new guest. He reacted to my sudden gawking with a slight chuckle, as if this was nothing that he wasn’t used to… which, considering who it was, I’m not surprised people acted like I did whenever he walked in a room. Emerald-Green eyes looked me over as he placed a hand on his hip, slowly walking closer. His voice was hushed as he spoke, but it was unmistakably his. “Glad to see you’re awake.”

I don’t think I made any noise aside from a choked sort of squeaking sound. I couldn’t believe it.

Sonic the  _ freaking  _ Hedgehog was standing in my room.

...and I was wearing nothing but a hospital gown.


	7. Sonic the FREAKING Hedgehog

Meeting a celebrity had always been pretty high up on my bucket list, right up there with skydiving. Never did I think that I would be able to check both off my list in one day (if you counted my fall as skydiving). He had only said one sentence and I could already tell he was just dripping with confidence. He stood at the door, hand planted on his hip, a soft smirk on his face… he looked just like how one would imagine Sonic.

So… please keep that in mind when I tell you that my first reaction was to stare at him. With my mouth hanging open. A slight squeak slipping out of my throat occasionally. My brain just sorta… shut down, like in the cartoons. Apparently it was pretty uncomfortable for a few seconds. Luckily, Sonic was pretty used to this reaction. He smiled a bit wider and crossed into the room.

“Never seen a talking hedgehog before?” He asked, grabbing a chair and pulling it close to the bed… very close. Close enough to even rest an arm on the side railing. I snapped back just a bit, noting that my personal space was being invaded. I stared back at Sonic as he looked me up and down. “Think you can tell us your name?”

Name? What’s a name? Do I have a name? It took a second for my hat rack to kick back into gear. “M-My n-name’s Josh.” I said quietly. I was getting tongue tied, and that wasn’t helping me function any better.

“Nice to meet you Josh.” Sonic replied, smiling. “I’m Sonic the Hedgehog.”

“Y-Yeah, I know…” Oh my gosh did I say that out loud?

“And over there is Knuckles.” Sonic pointed to the other side of the bed. I turned to see the red echidna, sitting on a chair close to the window, staring at me with some degree of, what I thought might be, curiosity. I was too fixated on Sonic I didn’t even notice him come in. His arms were crossed, and he had one leg crossed on top of his other.

“...the Emerald?” He asked me quietly. His voice was surprisingly soft, yet still held a certain intensity. I quickly picked it up off the nightstand and held it out to him. He grunted a bit and walked over to take it. “...we couldn’t remove it from you while you were unconscious. Do you know why?” I shook my head. He nodded a bit and stared at the Emerald before walking out the door without another word. Sonic chuckled again, though there was just a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“He’s… got a one track mind right now.” He said, as if trying to apologize. “He’s kinda the one responsible for guarding the Chaos Emeralds, especially this really big one called the Master Emerald.” I had a fuzzy recollection of hearing that term before, though I couldn’t tell you exactly where I heard it from. I nodded a bit, less because I understood, more because I couldn’t quite find my voice again. Seeing him up close was… something else. Like the quills on the back of his head for example, I thought he just had like… five long and thick quills, because the games made them look like they were all just long, pointy masses… this close though, you could see each of the small, individual quills, purposely styled back to form those thicker points. The length of each quill was a bit surprising… if they were to hang down, they’d probably reach his lower back at least. He had fur too, all around his face, his arms, his torso, legs I assumed too. It was short, but… it looked surprisingly soft. His teeth showed through his easy smile… pure white… his canines looked dangerously sharp, though they were just hidden enough that you wouldn’t really register them as threatening.

But, as cliche as it sounds, what really surprised me were his eyes. They were big, of course, but they somehow looked normal on him, not at all out of place. They were this amazing shade of green too, but again, anyone who had seen him in a video game would have known that. What surprised me were how… alive they looked. And I know it seems like that should have been obvious, I was looking at the guy in the flesh, but… I’d been used to seeing him rendered on a screen, printed on a page, seeing his eyes just… flat and lifeless. But here they were right in front of me… they shone in the pale light coming from the moon outside, they flicked this way and that, looking at various parts of my body and face, and they radiated with… something. I couldn’t describe it, but… he looked at me like I wasn’t some strange creature that had just fallen from the sky, he looked at me like I was a friend. Or something close.

“Hey, you there?” Sonic snapped his fingers in front of my face a bit, startling me slightly. I didn’t realize I had been staring… I blushed a bit and looked down at his muzzle.

“Sorry…” I mumbled. “I’m just a bit… star struck I guess.” I blushed harder. It was embarrassing to admit, but… again, he was used to it. I heard him chuckle softly.

“Take a deep breath dude.” He said calmly. “I’m just a normal guy, like you.” He stopped for a moment and looked me up and down. “...sort of. Gotta say, pretty surprising to see a human show up here on Mobius… don’t get many of those.” His smile dropped slowly as he looked me up and down again. “...you’re a long ways from home, aint’cha...” My breath hitched as I nodded. “...Do you think you could tell me how you got here?”

I drew in a shaky breath and started from the beginning… Jacob finding the Emerald at a junk shop, the strange noises, the robots, the kidnapping… The entire time, Sonic listened attentively, nodding every now and then, asking a few questions for clarification… I saw his quills rise a bit as I talked about Eggman’s involvement in my story. “...I need to get back to Jacob. He’s all alone…” I took in another deep breath to keep the tears from falling.

“...do you guys have any other family he could go to?” Sonic asked. “Aunt, Uncle, anyone?” I shook my head.

“Mom and Dad were only kids, my dad’s parents both passed away a while ago from lung cancer, and my mom cut off all ties with hers… I wouldn’t know where to look for them.” I curled up on the bed a bit, pulling my knees to my chest slowly. The move made me groan as my muscles ached in protest… nothing too painful, but enough to let me know I wouldn’t be making any sudden movements for a little while now. I muttered a quiet apology for the noise, though I don’t know if he heard me. He looked to be deep in thought, a soft frown on his face, his eyes gazing into the distance for a moment. He blinked a couple of times as he met my gaze again.

“We’ve got no time to lose then.” I said, his smile returning. “I’ll get you back home in no time flat.” I smiled back, gratefully, giving him a small nod. He nodded back for a moment before reaching down and picking up a plastic grocery bag (another thing I didn’t notice whilst gazing dreamily at Sonic) full of clothing. Sonic pulled out a pair of grey sweats and a matching grey sweater. I blushed as I remembered that I was essentially naked, with a thin hospital gown not doing much to hide my body. “Figured you’d like something to wear, since your clothes were kinda burnt up.” He chuckled. “I’m just glad to find out it wasn’t because Eggman caught you on fire or something.”

“What happened after that though?” I asked, moving closer. “I blacked out, I don’t know anything.”

“Well, I was already on my way to Eggman’s airship with a couple of friends when we saw it explode. We didn’t even see you at first until one of my friends, Tails, pointed you out.” Sonic sat back in his chair, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “I don’t think I’ve run that fast in a long time.”

“Sorry…” I said quietly. Sonic looked at me funny.

“...Sorry for what? Falling to your death?” He laughed a bit, though it didn’t look like he meant to. He cleared his throat. “I don’t really think you need to apologize for that dude. Besides, I wouldn’t be called the Fastest Thing Alive if I didn’t like running as fast as I did. Not that I needed to though.” He looked far away again, just kind of… staring at me. Staring THROUGH me. I shifted a bit as he continued. “You were just… floating down. Slowly. The Emerald was glowing like crazy in your hand. I grabbed you and you were just weightless for a while…” His smile never left his face, but as he blinked again, coming back, I could tell… he was a bit troubled by the whole ordeal. “All your clothes were charred and smoking, but you didn’t look burned at all… A swarm of robots started to come down, searching for you. We didn’t know what else to do, so we just… brought you here.” Sonic’s smile turned apologetic. “Sorry about that by the way… I’m sure the last thing you wanted to see after all that was a hospital.”

“N-No, don’t be sorry!” I quickly butted in. “It’s really ok!”

“Yeah, well, I can at least try to make up for that.” Sonic leaned forward again, patting the clothes and setting them on the bed. “I’ll get a nurse in here to take all those tubes off you, then you can change and we can get out of here.”

“I-I’m free to go?” I asked, sitting up just a bit more. Sonic nodded, his smile growing a bit wider.

“Yup. Doc says that she can’t find anything wrong with you, so you’re good to go!” Sonic winked and stood up. “I’ll wait for you down in the lobby.” I nodded as I watched Sonic turn and leave. I remained still for a while as the nerves and adrenaline I felt slowly left, and I felt myself slowly sink back into my bed. That just happened… I just talked to Sonic the  _ freaking _ Hedgehog, and he was talking back to me. And his hand almost touched my arm! I felt like a pre-teen at a Taylor Swift concert. I remained in this odd euphoric state as nurses came in, removed my IV’s, and helped me stand and walk towards the bathroom, my new sweats in hand. As I started to change, and calm down a bit, I began to wonder… where exactly was Sonic going to take me…?

* * *

“You… actually own a house?” I asked, looking ahead of me. The hospital was nice enough to send me back with Sonic in a van (A flying van, by the way, no wheels), which provided a very smooth ride. Sonic looked over at me, seeming to find my question a bit funny.

“Where did you think I lived?” He asked between a couple of soft chuckles. “A cave or grass hut or something?”

“I… uh…” I shut my mouth… I guess I had never really thought about where Sonic lived. I guess I just thought he was always on some adventure somewhere, never stopping to rest. “Just… not in a house…” I looked down a bit, feeling a bit embarrassed. Sonic just laughed and gave my back some friendly thumps, which only made my cheeks heat up even more. He settled back into his seat, looking out the window. I stared at him for a while more before I looked out my own window. There wasn’t much to see… it was all dark…

I shivered a bit as I quickly settled in my seat again, returning my eyes to the seat in front of me. I shifted a bit.

“So, how much further is this place…?”

“Not too much further.” Sonic draped an arm over the back of the seats, his hand hanging close to my shoulder. I couldn’t tell if he saw my reaction, or much at all about his face, other than the soft glow of his eyes. (I’m not kidding, there was a very soft glow to them… it was mesmerizing.) While his actions gave off a relaxed, almost non-caring look, he seemed to be constantly looking over me. I shifted a bit, glancing over at Sonic every now and then, trying to decipher what he was thinking. But all I saw were his eyes, and an odd emotion behind it. Yet just as soon as I saw it, it was gone, replaced with his almost trademark brand of confidence. “Why don’t you go back to sleep for a bit. Doc said you’d need your rest.”

I shook my head a bit too quickly. “I’m not all that tired.” I lied. Of course I was tired, it was two in the morning, and I guess the hospital must have had me on some general pain meds too because I was starting to feel like I was run over by one of those mini motorized cars little kids could get in and drive. I wanted nothing more than to sleep. But I didn’t want to. Not if it meant repeating the nightmare… or even worse, getting a part two.

“Well… like I said, we’re almost there. We’ll get a bedroom set up and get you settled in.” Sonic leaned back into his seat just a bit more, closing his eyes. I looked forward out the front, watching a bunch of floating lights marking out a road rush past us. Reality still hadn’t set in, as I sat there, just calmly accepting everything going on. Sonic the Hedgehog, just a celebrity. Floating Van, totally possible. I almost died, sure, why not? I wasn’t freaking out about this… why wasn’t I freaking out about it? Should I have been? I looked over to Sonic to ask…

Only to find him staring at me, that same look in his eyes from before. His eyes darted back to front again, as he blinked a couple of times before letting them close. I shifted in my seat a bit, more thoughts swirling around in my head. Was he staring at me on purpose? What was he thinking about if he was? Does he maybe not like humans because of Eggman? ...oh my gosh, what if he doesn’t like me? What if he won’t actually help me, he’ll just drop me off some place?

My train of thought was derailed by a gentle tap on my shoulder. “We’re here dude.” The van slowed and gently lowered to the ground with a gentle bump. One of the doors slid open with a gentle whoosh, revealing an inviting, two story house, set against a sky full of stars. It was dark, but it looked like it was a white house, with a black roof. Not much as far as exterior decorating as far as I could tell. As Sonic helped me out of the van, I looked up to see a light on in one of the upper windows, and caught a glimpse of a figure quickly daring out of view. Sonic chuckled a bit. “Looks like Tails stayed up to see you.”

I giggled a bit, a rush of excitement entering into me again. Tails was tied for my favorite character, right up there with Sonic. A genius inventor who also happened to be, like, 8. It made me want to be a scientist as I grew up, so I could make robots like Tails did. The door to the house opened up, and I nearly squealed as I saw the small, orange and white fox, his two namesakes swaying a bit as he ran out to join us. And with him came a barrage of questions.

“Are you ok?”

“What happened out there?”

“What did the doctors do to you?”

“Do you need anything?”

I didn’t even have time to take a breath between each of his questions. Sonic laughed a bit, holding out a hand to his friend. “Tails, take it easy, he’s probably overwhelmed as is.”

“I-I’m fine, really.” I replied quickly. I smiled and held out my hand. “I’m Josh. And yeah, I’m fine.” Tails smiled back, his tails giving an adorable little wave as he took my hand, giving it a surprisingly firm shake.

“My name’s Miles, but my friends call me Tails.” He replied as he dropped his hand to the side.

“It’s nice to meet you Miles.” It was a bit odd, calling him by his actual name, knowing full well that his preferred name was Tails. I figured, it might be best to try to keep things professional until he got to know me better.

“No, I told you, friends call me Tails!” He gave me a Sonic-esque thumbs up. “We’re friends now right?”

I smiled even wider, a warm feeling flooding my core. “T-That fast?” I asked, my voice squeaking a bit from trying to hold back a squeal.

“Well…” Tails chuckled a bit, looking at the ground a little and holding his arm, as if he were embarrassed by what he was about to say. “I figured, you know… since you just got here, you’re probably a little shaken up… I thought you could use a friend.”

_ EEEEEEEEEEE~!! _

I couldn’t help the blush that came as my smile spread across my whole face, I swear. I just nodded like an idiot, forgetting how my voice worked for a moment, barely managing a little squeal of excitement (which sounded a bit like someone stepped on a mouse). I could feel Sonic shaking next to me, trying to hold in his laughter, presumably from my reaction. I cleared my throat. “I-I’d be honored Tails… t-thank you…!”

Tails chuckled again, looking up at me funnily. “I don’t know about an honor…”

“It’s… a long story.” I trailed off a bit, wondering how the kitsune was going to react when he learned that I actually knew a lot more about him than he knew about me. Tails tilted his head a bit as he looked from me, to Sonic, to me again.

“Wait until we get inside.” Sonic said softly. Tails nodded and waved us towards the house, already making his way in. Sonic chuckled again, shaking his head a bit.

“Looks like you’re already making friends here!” Sonic grinned at me, giving me a gentle nudge.

“I thought I already made friends with you!” I replied, frowning a bit in a mock pout. I may have looked a bit too convincing though… Sonic started to stutter.

“I-I mean, y-yeah no right, of course we’re friends!” He rubbed a hand through his quills. “I didn’t mean we, weren’t, I just meant that you’re making  _ more  _ friends now and-”

“Hey, I was kidding…” I said quietly, gently placing a hand on his arm… his… surprisingly fluffy and soft arm. Sonic stopped and looked over at me, before finally sighing in relief and shaking his head.

“Sorry… guess we’re all just pretty worried about making sure you feel welcome and comfortable.” Sonic walked keeping a hand gently on my back, in case I started to stumble. I looked up at him (wow he’s tall).

“Really?”

“Well, yeah…” He paused for a moment, a memory crossing his mind from the looks of it. “We know how it feels, being thrown onto an alien planet with no one you can really turn to.” I think he might have felt me stiffen a bit, some reality setting in for me, because he quickly added, “Hey, you’ve got us now. Me and all my friends. We’re gonna get you through this.”

My thoughts had already started swimming with Jacob, starting to pull me down… so it was comforting to hear someone say that. I looked back up at Sonic again and nodded, whispering a slightly watery “thank you.” Sonic gave my back a gentle pat, which caused a bit of pain to shoot through me. He winced a bit after seeing my face contort in pain.

“The doc gave me some pain killers for you. We’ll get some food in you, then take your pill, then maybe get some rest.” He said, almost to himself, as if going over a checklist. It took me back a bit, it was almost motherly… He nodded to himself as we crossed some steps and entered the house. Tails was already waiting at the door.

“Everyone’s been really excited to meet you.” Tails said happily, moving deeper into the house.

“Everyone?” I repeated, looking up at Sonic. He seemed equally confused, shrugging a bit, before guiding me through the house. The inside was as sparsely decorated as the outside… evidence that just guys lived in the house. We passed by a surprisingly clean kitchen and a small laundry room, before entering into the living room.

And if I wasn’t starstruck before… you can bet I was now.


	8. The First Night

“So… I’m Josh.”

Those were the first words I said to everyone. And those words have never sounded stupider together. I immediately felt another blush start to come to my face before Tails gently tugged my wrist.

“Here, come sit down.” He said, pulling me towards a couch and offering me a seat before sitting next to me. Everyone gathered in the suddenly warm room stared at me with curious, searching eyes.

The first I had already met. Knuckles stared at me with a bit more concern than last time, now that the Emerald wasn’t his primary concern. “How’re you feeling?” He asked. His voice was hushed, much less gruff than I first heard it, which was honestly quite welcome. I shrugged just a bit.

“...fine…” I couldn’t help but shrink a bit in the seat… with everyone staring at me, I felt like a bug under a microscope. “...just a little pain… that’s all…”

“He needs to get something to eat before I can give him the pain meds,” Sonic shook the pill bottle he was holding. “You guys got the food, right?”

“It’s on its way,” Knuckles replied, not even looking at Sonic. “Hope you don’t mind pizza.” I shook my head. “Cool.” Knuckles leaned back in his seat, his gaze never leaving me, as if he were trying to figure out if I was a threat or something.

“...so, you aren’t going to introduce yourself or anything?” The other person with us asked Knuckles, a pink hedgehog in a red skirt and headband who I recognized almost as instantly as I had everyone else. She turned back to me and smiled. “Amy Rose. It's a pleasure to meet you.” I nodded a bit.

“And you,” I smiled. “My name’s J-Josh.” Once I start to stutter and stammer a bit, it’s all downhill from there. “I mean, you-you already knew that, I said… that… already…” I fizzled and sunk into the now familiar couch cushions once again, my face reddening for what had to be the hundredth time that night. Amy giggled a bit.

“Just take a deep breath, Josh,” She said, leaning forward. “No reason to be nervous around us.”

“Sorry,” I clasped my hands together and twiddled my thumbs. “...it’s all a bit… overwhelming…” I sighed, closing my eyes a bit, hoping everyone would just stop staring at me. I felt a light touch on my arm.

“Just relax,” Tails said quietly. “You’re safe here.”

“O-Oh, no, it’s not that I don’t feel safe,” I turned to him, looking into his baby blue eyes (adorable!!!). “It’s just this whole situation I find overwhelming, you know? Getting kidnapped by evil scientists and everything…” I folded my arms, looking down at my shoes. “…Not to mention, I haven’t really been this far away from my little brother before.”

“What happened to your brother?” Knuckles asked, sitting up a bit. I opened my mouth to speak before a soft chime rang through the air.

“That’s the pizza,” Sonic stated as he hurried to the door. “Eat now, talk later! You’re gonna be wanting those pills pretty soon here.”

* * *

A belly full of pizza and a couple of ibuprofen, or whatever this planet’s equivalent was, later, the attention was back on me. I did my best to calmly tell my story, but it was so much harder this time. Before, with Sonic one-on-one, I guess I must have been pretty drugged up and emotionally numb still, the events on Eggman’s ship still fresh enough that I was still trying to process everything. Now though…

“I’m sorry…” I said quietly, wiping my eyes. I had just finished telling them about Jacob teleporting away. “We just… haven’t been this far apart for this long since… ever…” I sniffled. “And… and I’m just… I… don’t know what he’s doing or if he’s ok or-” I sobbed, a shudder rolling through my body. I blushed and shut my mouth, trying to take in deep breaths through my nose, shutting my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see the look I knew was on everyone’s faces... The funny thing was, I wasn’t even sure why I was crying. Jacob was smart, I knew he was safe. He could have walked back to Ms. Hannigans, or called her to pick him up. Yet there was this little nag, this dark feeling in my gut, that told me something was wrong. I wasn’t sure if it was my “creepy senses” or not. I didn’t want to know. I hoped it was just indigestion from being in a strange new world, surrounded by people that, while I knew their names, their faces, and even their personalities, I didn’t really know that well. I felt a pair of hands clap onto my shoulders, and looked up to see Sonic smiling at me.

“Don’t worry dude. We’ll get you back home!” He flashed me a thumbs up as he moved and sat back down in a plush recliner. “I’m sure wherever he is, he’s doing just fine.” I felt a little hope enter my core, helping me calm a bit. I wasn’t sure how… or why… but for some reason, Sonic made me feel better. Like everything was going to be alright when he was around. I nodded a bit, settling back a bit into the couch. Tails settled next to me and looked up at me.

“Do you think you can keep going with your story?” He asked, nibbling at another slice of the pizza. “I wanna hear how you blew up the ship.” I had to admit… it made me laugh softly, the way he asked. It made me sound like I was a hero telling a story to a group of wide-eyed fans. I wiped my eyes.

“Um… well, Eggman’s robots took me on the ship, and Eggman showed me his machine that was supposed to make the Chaos Emeralds supercharged or something.” I almost felt the mood change as Amy, Knuckles, and Tails sat up a bit. “Um… he said he found the source of their power, emotions or something, and he had collected a whole bunch of emotions so he could fill the Emeralds with them.”

“Wait, he collected emotions?” Amy squinted a bit. “...how does that work?” I shrugged a bit.

“He had these big glass containers with gasses in them that… I don’t know, I guess they were emotions… I think.” I stammered slightly as I stumbled through an explanation, trying to answer any questions that came my way, mostly from Tails, who was asking for specifics that I had no answers to. Sonic finally stepped in.

“Look, the point is, he had a big machine, the Emeralds got supercharged.” He said. He nodded to me to continue.

“Well… after that, I uh…” I paused a bit. “...I don’t know really, I used Chaos Blast or something like that, grabbed the Emeralds and threw them out the side of the ship… aside from the yellow one, I guess.”

“And then you jumped out of the Egg Carrier?” Tails asked, almost bouncing in his seat next to me.

“No, no, I-I didn’t jump… I just kinda… fell.” I shrugged a bit. “Eggman backed me up against the edge, the ship kinda lurched, and I fell out. After that, I… blacked out. I woke up in the hospital.” I thought for a moment. “Sonic said I was floating when you found me… is that right?”

“You don’t know?” Knuckles asked. I shook my head. “We think the power of the Chaos Emerald was helping you float down. We assumed you were doing it, and that you passed out from energy exhaustion.” I shook my head again. “...come by Angel Island tomorrow, I want to show you something.” He stood up (he was tall too…) and started for the door.

“Wait, you’re not leaving already, are you?!” Amy stood as well, looking just a bit angry.

“I’ve been away from Angel Island for too long, I have to get back.”

“But-”

Knuckles didn’t say another word, simply turning and walking out the door. Amy huffed a bit and crossed her arms. She grumbled something under her breath that I’m pretty sure wasn’t rated E for Everyone. She shook her head before looking up at a wall clock. She sighed softly. “...I actually need to go too… audition tomorrow…” She gave me an apologetic look. “I’ll come back tomorrow to take you to get some new clothes, how does that sound?” 

“T-That would be nice… t-thank you, Ms. Amy.” I said. She gave me one last quick smile, before looking at Sonic and giving him a cutesy wave and walking out the door. Sonic rolled his eyes a bit when she was out of sight, before settling back into the chair a bit, closing his eyes, a soft, satisfied smile on his face. I turned to see Tails was in a similar state, relatively calm and tranquil, almost falling asleep. I tried to hold back a yawn, but couldn’t do much to keep it from rising up. Sonic cracked an eye open and chuckled before standing with a slight grunt.

“C’mon, your bedroom’s upstairs.” He said, twisting a bit to stretch his back. There was a soft pop, and he let out a small sigh of contentment before holding a hand out to me. I nodded and gratefully took it, letting him pull me up. Though the pain was largely gone, there was a certain stiffness to my body, like it knew that I shouldn’t move it around too much. After making sure I was stable on my feet, he nodded towards a set. “First door on the right.”

“You’re sleeping in my room.” Tails jumped up from the couch, looking a bit excited. “Hope you don’t mind. Sonic just… doesn’t really… have a room for you to take.” He looked over at the hedgehog, who simply shrugged. “He prefers the couch.” 

“The couch?” I looked over at Sonic now, who just shrugged again. That just seemed fitting for him. He was always on the run, always trying to go somewhere or do something… of course he would take the couch. It wasn’t a place to stay for long. It was for someone who was passing through, just staying there temporarily. Even is this was his home, Sonic’s real home was wherever he happened to be, whatever adventure he happened to be right in the middle of. Tails smiled and waved a hand, telling me to follow him. I nodded. As I watched him walk away, I had to admit, seeing his two tails in real life… I guess I could maybe understand why people would have made fun of him as a kid. Jacob told me the kit’s story… I had to admit, it was pretty heartbreaking what happened to him. Being bullied, just for being different. But looking at him now, there was something about his two tails that did seem unnatural. They looked thinner than a normal tail should have been, almost weaker in some way. The base especially… they seemed a bit twisted up and crooked, almost the way an underdeveloped limb might look. Come to think of it… the way Tails walked… it almost looked like it hurt just a bit. I frowned as I followed him up the stairs and into a room. Tails’ bedroom was littered with various bits of machinery, posters, blueprints, everything a little mechanic could dream of. Part of the room looked cleaned up, a mattress on the ground, covered with a comfortable looking blanket and a soft pillow. I smiled and sighed happily, letting myself fall onto the mattress. It was warm, cozy, and… honestly, I was almost about to fall asleep when Tails shook me a bit.

“Hey, you’re not sleeping there, you got the bed.” He said, chuckling again. I quickly sat up.

“N-No no, I can’t, I… that’s your bed!” Tails laughed a bit more.

“Hey, relax! You just got out of the hospital, so you should sleep in a bed to make sure you don’t get hurt more.” Tails pulled me up to my feet again… he was strong for being so small. He pushed me to the bed, practically making me fall onto it. There was a bit of pain there, for sure. “Get some rest, ok?” I looked back at him to try to argue, but he was already resting on the mattress, his tails curled around himself like a makeshift blanket. I finally decided to get comfortable on the bed, covering myself with a few blankets. I did my best to let my eyes drift closed, to try to sleep… but after all the excitement, I wasn’t sure if it was going to come easy. I looked over at Tails to see if he had already drifted, only to see two softly glowing blue eyes looking back at me. The eyes glow a bit here, apparently.

“...are you going to tell me to go to sleep again?” I asked quietly. Tails chuckled and shook his head.

“Guess not. Can’t sleep?” He asked, sitting up on his arm. I shook my head. “I mean, I totally understand, but… you should at least try.”

“I know… I… usually when I wake up, I can’t go back to sleep,” I sighed softly, leaning up on the bed, mirroring Tails. “Especially not with everything else going on…” I drifted off a bit in thought. Thinking back to my nightmare.

“...else?” Tails sat up a bit. “There something else that happened today?”

“Oh, no, sorry.” I shook myself from my trance. “Just… meeting you, kidnapped by Eggman…  _ that  _ else.” Tails nodded.

“I’m sure it’s a lot,” he said, somberly. “You ever thought you would be this far from home before?” I shook my head. “I know you’re probably a bit scared-”

“Not yet…” I admitted. “...The adrenaline is still kinda… pumping through me.”

“Well… if you do get scared, don’t be. We’re gonna get you home,” Tails perked up a bit. “And in the meantime, we’re gonna make sure you have a good time here. It’ll be like an adventure!”

“You mean a vacation?” I asked, laughing a bit.

“I don’t think you’ll be doing a ton of relaxing here!” Tails smiled. “You’ll see. With Sonic around, it’s pretty much action 24/7.” 

I felt my pulse pound a bit. I couldn’t help but smile just a bit wider, feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. This was going to be quite the adventure… and as long as the adrenaline was pumping through me, I was ready for the ride.  
  
Of course, the thing about adrenaline, it doesn’t last forever. Tails and I spoke for a while more, me asking him questions about the new world I was in, him trying to assure me that everything was going to be ok. But eventually, he fell asleep, leaving me alone to my thoughts. Like I said, once I was awake, I had a hard time going back to sleep. And that night, I didn’t sleep at all. At first, I was excited. Look where I was! Sonic’s world! And I even met the blue blur himself! And Tails and Knuckles and Amy and…  
Eggman… I shuddered again, something that was becoming a regular occurrence I noted. I never thought that meeting the admittedly comical villain in the video games would be so terrifying in real life… I almost died…

And then there was the matter of Jacob. Sonic assured me he was safe at home, that he made it back to the orphanage with Ms. Hannigan… but…

I felt my stomach churn a bit. This time, without a doubt… my creepy senses were acting up. Hard. I knew, I just knew… something was wrong. And the fact that I couldn’t see what it was made things all the worse. I was used to seeing the trouble, used to knowing, or at least having an inkling, of what was going on, like… really vague Spider Senses. There was trouble million, if not billions or more miles away from me, and I couldn’t tell what it was, just that it concerned Jacob in some way. And unless I could somehow figure out some way home, I never would.

What if I never made it home… 

I felt my heart stop for just a moment before I shoved the thought away as quickly as I could. I was going home. I had to. The question was, how? Chaos Control, sure, but… it seemed like I would need more than just one or two Emeralds… all seven… why did I have to throw them, I had no idea where we were flying over. And for all I know, we were so high up, the wind could have scattered them even further! They could have fallen in the ocean, or someone could have stolen them, or-

It took a second to realize I was pulling on my hair until I felt a tugging pain in my skull. I dropped my hands down, covering my face. Everything was feeling so… overwhelming. I could feel tears start to form, the walls closing in on me. I quickly pulled the covers of the unfamiliar bed over myself, shutting my eyes tightly. I knew I wouldn’t sleep. But I could try. Or pretend. Pretend that I wasn’t softly sobbing to myself, biting a knuckle to keep myself quiet. Things would be better when the sun came up.

At least… that’s what I always told myself. I prayed it would be true today. It was really all I could do.


	9. Quick, Call Tan France!

I watched the sun rise slowly from the window in Tails’ room. I felt tired. I cried for probably a solid hour, then felt stupid for crying over little things that I didn’t have much control over. Everything was going to be fine. One way or another, everything would be fine. I looked over to see Tails sprawled on the mattress, snoring quietly, his blankets thrown all over the place, his tails twitching every so often. It was pretty adorable. I slowly got out of bed, shuffling to the door, slipping back into the living room. The room was gently lit by the rising sun, giving the place a bit of a dim, rosy glow, all the furniture casting long shadows across the floor. I moved over to a window and stared out, looking at the horizon. It was fairly flat, aside from a few square or rectangular… things sticking out of the ground here and there. The rest was fairly hilly and very green. In a word: beautiful. If I hadn’t been kidnapped and fallen almost to my death against my will to this place, I probably would have loved to take a vacation here.

“You’re up early,” Sonic’s voice from behind me made me jump roughly 3 feet in the air, give or take. I quickly turned, clutching at my shirt over where my heart would be. The hedgehog gave an apologetic chuckle, putting a hand on his hip.

“Y-yeah, well, I could say the same for you,” I replied, slowly dropping my hand. “Don’t sneak up on a guy like that…!” I sat down on a nearby chair to steady my nerves for a moment. “Why are you up so early?”

“I’m always up this early,” He replied, crossing an arm in front of himself and using the other to stretch it. “I like to go out for a run this time of day,” He looked down at me with that odd expression that he had when we were in the van on the way here. “Looks like you didn’t sleep a wink, why are you up?”

“I just…” Oh you know, I fell into a downward spiral of bad thoughts and self-doubt and spent the night crying instead of sleeping. The usual. “Once I’m up, I typically don’t go back down, you know?” Sonic nodded a bit but didn’t seem too satisfied with my answer. 

“Well, if you feel tired again, get some rest. You just got out of the hospital in case you forgot,” He finished stretching, and that odd expression was gone, replaced with a cocky smirk as he walked towards the front door. “Help yourself to whatever’s in the kitchen, I’ll be back soon if you need help with anything!” He stepped out the door… and was almost instantly gone. Like, I blinked, and he was nowhere to be found. I heard a distant whirring sound out the window and saw a blue streak of light zip towards the horizon, dashing across the hills and various… things (apparently those are loop-de-loops and to answer your next question, yes they are naturally forming) and out of sight. I shook my head a bit. They don’t call him the Fastest Thing Alive for nothing… I haven’t even seen jet airplanes that moved that fast.

I returned to the chair, sitting down slowly in it… and just sat there, watching the shadows in the room ever so slowly get shorter and shorter. I idly ran my hand over the arm chair’s fabric, feeling the rough texture as the sun finally rose high enough for it to beam through the window, illuminating the small particles of dust and whatever else was floating through the air. I settled into the cushion, almost letting it swallow me… All things considered, everything felt peaceful for a bit. I’d never really been the type of guy to watch the sunrise… in fact, I couldn’t even remember the last time I did!

Well I mean, I  _ could _ , I just didn’t really want to. Memories like that were a bit painful.

I sat up a bit as I heard a pair of soft footsteps pad into the room. A still sleepy Tails wandered in, giving me a tired looking smile as he sat down on the couch kitty-corner to me, staring out the window for a while as well. We sat in silence, watching the light around us slowly get brighter and brighter, less and less orange and more and more yellow. I finally took a deep breath and stood, scratching my belly and stretching.

“Do you guys have a shower I can use?” I asked quietly, not really wanting to disturb the peaceful morning. Tails nodded, yawning a bit.

“Follow me, I’ll get you a towel… use whatever you want, we got plenty.” Tails stood and guided me towards a cozy bathroom. Pretty standard fare, sink, bath and shower, toilet, bare necessities all over. Everything in the house that I had seen so far seemed more designed for function rather than fashion. Not many decorations, and whatever elements were there seemed a bit mismatched… for example, the blue spotted shower curtain didn’t seem to match the red towels at all, nor the pink and white striped mats on the floor. But, they added a pop of color to the otherwise white room, which was nice. Tails returned with a fluffy towel for me (this one a nice burgundy) before showing me how to use the shower and how to lock the door for some privacy, as well as showing me the various things I might want to use during and after the shower, before shutting the door to let me do what I needed to do. I sighed and stripped down, taking a moment to look over my body. Nothing looked too bad… a couple of bruises maybe, but nothing too bad. I sighed a bit and turned to my side, rubbing over my slightly protruding belly. I used to be a cross country runner, and was in fairly decent shape… but ever since… it happened, I stopped running. I just didn’t feel like going out and doing anything, and it was definitely starting to show…

I tried not to take too long, it wasn’t my shower, and I wasn’t a fan of using a stranger’s shower… which was kinda funny considering I had seen these guys for a large part of my life. I smiled a bit… they all seemed so much like how they are in the video games, and yet… Tails was a bit more open, Knuckles a bit quieter, Amy seemed less Sonic obsessed, and Sonic… well, I still wasn’t sure why he was so different… something in the way he looked at me… 

Oh yeah, and there was the softly glowing eye thing, that was different.

It only took me about 10 minutes to shower, and another 5 to dry off, put on some deodorant that Tails was nice enough to leave me, and do my hair (all the products came courtesy of Sonic… his hair care ritual is surprisingly involved and complicated), before I was back downstairs in a fresh pair of sweats, this pair a bit baggier on me, courtesy of Knuckles. It took no time at all to smell something sweet in the air. I followed my nose past the living room to the kitchen/dining room. Tails was seated at a card table in a folding chair, while, to my surprise, Amy was already here, cooking something that made my mouth water. She looked back, sensing my arrival, and smiled.

“Hey, glad to see you’re up!” She looked back at her work, flipping a pancake over. “Sleep well?”

“Er… y-yeah, thanks…” I sat next to Tails in another folding chair before dropping my voice to a whisper. “When did she get here? I’ve been up since the butt crack of dawn.” Tails shrugged.

“You’re not allergic to wheat or anything, are you?” Amy asked over her shoulder, looking at me while continuing to tend to the food. I shook my head, which pleased her as she returned to her work.

“She just kinda shows up some mornings.” Tails whispered back, leaning across the table like he was about to tell me some big secret. “We never hear her come in, she’s just…” He made a motion with his hands, miming a poof or an explosion. “Here.” He sat back. “I mean, I don’t mind, she kinda makes sure we keep the house clean and keep it… you know… standing.”

“Right, it’s just you and Sonic living here, right?” I asked, leaning back myself.

“And if it weren’t for me, this place would be disgusting,” Amy called, waving a spatula in the air. “Sonic should be more grateful for all the hard work I do around here! And speaking of Sonic…”

On cue, we all heard the front door open, and a satisfied “phew” from the front room. Sonic walked into the kitchen shortly after, toweling sweat from his quills. He opened his mouth to speak, but Amy cut him to the quick.

“Have a good run?” She asked, turning fully away from the griddle and walking over to Sonic. Sonic, for his part, tried his hardest to not look surprised or sheepish or… maybe even a bit annoyed. I mean really tried.

“A-Amy, you’re here… a-again.” Sonic gave a weak excuse for a smile.

Amy was having none of it. She shoved her spatula into Sonic’s chest, knocking him back a bit.

“Listen, I didn’t come all this way to make you dinner and tell you guys to clean just so you can throw me to the curb like usual.” She said, poking Sonic every couple of words to drive her point home.

“S-Sorry, I-I didn’t mean it like that, i-it’s good to see you, Ames…!” Sonic backed away, sitting next to me. Amy nodded, satisfied at Sonic’s response, before returning to her work. Sonic took a few more seconds to make sure he wasn’t in danger of being smacked by something before looking at me. He smiled and shrugged a bit.

“Did you have a good run Sonic?” Tails asked, completely unbothered by what just happened.

“Yup, just like always.” He dug his pinky into his ear. “Just a heads up, looks like a storm is on its way, expect a bit of thunder…” Tails nodded, looking a bit more solemn. Sonic’s hand was suddenly smacked out of his ear as Amy laid down four plates of pancakes, eggs, and sausage. My mouth watered again as Amy sat down, and the trio dug in.

“Someone tell me again why Josh is dressed in Knuckles’ sweats again?” Amy asked, looking me up and down. I blushed a bit and crossed my arms, trying to make the baggy sweat clothes conform to me a bit more. “He’s completely drowning in them.”

“‘Cuz we already used my pair, and Tails’ is too small,” Sonic replied, shoveling down spoonful after spoonful of egg.

“You only have one pair of sweats?” I asked, looking at Sonic. He shrugged again.

“We don’ weely ware clofs,” He said between mouthfuls of egg. He swallowed before continuing, glancing at Amy warily. “We only have the sweats in case the temperature gets way too low. Amy needs clothes for decency’s sake.”

A million questions regarding facets of the Hedgehog’s body I’d rather not say out loud began to run through my head, and all of them made me blush a bit harder than I care to admit. Amy took another bite, continuing to scan me up and down.

“...good thing I’m taking you clothes shopping today…” She said quietly, reaching over and grabbing Sonic’s now empty plate and stacking it below hers with an almost practiced movement. She didn’t even stop looking at me or break her concentration. I looked over at Sonic, then Tails, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the intense eye contact from across the table. Sonic smiled sympathetically.

“You need some clothes bud, and I can’t think of anyone better to take you.” He reassured me. “She’s the only one of us who wears them.”

Amy seemed to notice my nervousness and dialed back the intensity, giving me an apologetic and easy-going smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll have some fun, make a morning of it! I’ll take you into the city so you can see the sights, I know all the best places to shop, oh, and I’ll take you to this amazing cafe for lunch when we’re done!” I relaxed a bit… it did sound nice. And Amy seemed more than pleasant to be around when she wasn’t boring into my soul. I nodded a bit.

“That sounds awesome,” I replied. “Thank you.”

Amy smiled and stood. “Great. We can leave once we get cleaned up.”

* * *

About five minutes later, I was in Tails’ biplane, The Tornado, Tails carefully piloting while Amy sat on one of the wings, clinging to a pole, and casually poking at a very thin phone that she could fold up into a small square. I had to admit, I did feel a little bit of anxiety, seeing as my last time in some kind of aircraft didn’t exactly go so well… so I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until we touched down at the edge of a large, sprawling city, gleaming in the light. I couldn’t help but smile… the place looked like something out of a science fiction movie… holographic billboards, floating cars, and everything seemed to be this pristine white that was almost blinding. Luckily, everything was offset by a beautiful garden that seemed to run down the middle of every street, ending every few meters or so to let people cross. I guess since the cars didn’t drive along the street, they wanted to do something nice. It created a beautiful dichotomy between the futuristic and the natural. It almost felt like I was in a gigantic zen garden.

We quickly made our way into the city, Amy stopping here and there to examine a couple of things in a window. All the while, I couldn’t help but feel a thousand eyes on my back… and there was little wonder why. Not only was I dressed in an all grey sweatsuit, but…

“Amy… am I the only human here…?” I asked quietly, looking over my shoulder in time to see a couple of cows quickly avert their gaze from me.

“Well… yeah,” Amy replied, looking over her shoulder as well and shooting a menacing gaze at anyone else staring at me. “Sorry, did you think there’d be more?”

“I guess not,” I said quietly. I wanted to crawl into my baggy pants and hide. “I just wish they didn’t have to stare…”

Amy pursed her lips a bit before looking up and stopping in front of a store. A smile slowly crossed her face as she looked at me with a determined look. “Then let’s give them a reason to stare.” She held her hand out to me confidently… and I couldn’t help but smile. Her confidence was contagious. I took her hand and nodded. She giggled a bit before pulling me into the store. “CLAUDIO!!” She called out, looking around. Almost immediately, a well-groomed raccoon in a tuxedo strutted out from behind a display. His face lit up as he held his hands out.

“Amy, baby!” He cried out, quickly moving towards her. He sounded like one of the guys from Queer Eye, which made me start to wonder exactly what Amy had roped me into. She let go of my hand and took hugged Claudio, the two exchanging air kisses on both cheeks. The raccoon stepped back a bit and gave Amy a once over before pointing at her, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Is that a new dress you’re wearing, I love it!” Amy rolled her eyes a bit.

“Claudio, I need a little help-”

“I’ve been trying to tell you-”

“Not for me!” Amy pretended to look offended before walking over to me and wrapping an arm around my waist. “For my friend here!”

Claudio stared at me, before pulling out his glasses, staring, wiping them off, and staring again. “...who is he? No no, WHAT is he?” I curled in on myself a bit… I wasn’t a huge fan of being called a what.

“He is my friend, Josh,” Amy started, giving me a small shake. “And he is in need of a complete wardrobe. Stat.” It looked like Claudio had a million more question, but the look on Amy’s face told him to drop it. He took another look at me before hurrying over and grabbing at my clothes.

“I hope you didn’t choose this yourself.” He said, looking me in the eye as if I had just spit in his food. I quickly shook my head.

“N-No, no sir.” I stuttered, blushing from the attention again. Claudio gasped, putting a hand over his heart.

“Sir! I don’t know where you found him Amy, but I like him,” He smiled and quickly moved to my side, wrapping his arm around mine. “Don’t you worry, Josh, was it? By the time you leave here, I’ll make sure everyone will be calling you that.” I couldn’t help but smile again as Claudio walked me further into the store, passing by the woman’s section… wow, this place was big. “So, tell me about yourself.”

“Well… to answer the second question you had for me, I’m a human,” I said, looking at the raccoon, who simply nodded. “I’m from… very far away.”

“And what kind of clothing do you like, what kind of styles?” Claudio asked, already looking like he was dressing me up in his head.

“Um… jeans and a t-shirt?” I replied a bit sheepishly. Claudio stopped and stared at me for a while before looking back at Amy.

“Where do you keep finding these guys?” He asked her. She only shrugged, an amused smile on her face. I felt Claudio pat my arm with his other hand, his first arm squeezing a bit on mine. “Well don’t you worry, we’re going to find the right style for you, even if it takes all day.” We finally seemed to reach the men’s section, and Claudio immediately began to pull various things off of various racks, seemingly at random, though it was clear he had something in mind. We made it back to a dressing room as he handed me a small pile of clothes. “Go try these on, then come out and let’s see how you look.” I stared at the clothes he gave me… which all seemed a bit… skimpy.

“...are you sure about this?” I asked, looking up at Claudio doubtfully.

“I doubt it’ll look good, but we won’t know until we try.” Claudio gave me a gentle push. “Just give it a shot, you never know!”

* * *

While I had to admit, it was fun to try on clothes with Claudio and Amy, after about 15 outfits, even the raccoon seemed to be getting a bit tired. We had moved into a private changing room/modeling studio, and employees had been bringing us back outfit after outfit… but so far, apparently, nothing stuck. I just didn’t fit in with the latest Mobian styles. He stared at my latest outfit, something that was ripped right out of an 80’s catalog, and shook his head. “No, less is more with you, I’ve been going the wrong way.” He shook his head and moved over to a screen displaying different clothing items. He pressed a finger to the screen and began swiping through the various clothing items. I took this as an opportunity to take a seat, flopping into a seat next to Amy. She chuckled a bit, patting my hand.

“You doing ok?” She asked. I nodded, leaning my head against the back of the seat. 

“I’ve never tried on so many clothes in my life,” I replied with a small groan. Amy laughed. 

“Claudio doesn’t stop until everything is perfect.” She said with a smile. “It’s why I’ve never let him pick out an outfit for me.”

“Oh, but you let him go at me, gee thanks,” I replied sarcastically. She laughed a bit harder.

“I didn’t think you’d be so hard to clothe, I guess I was wrong!” She shrugged. “I dunno, I liked you in that white button-up shirt!”

“No way, I looked like I was going to church with grandma.” I shook my head.

“Oh hey, that kinda reminds me!” Amy sat up a bit. “What do your parents do?” She asked. The question took me off guard, almost making me fall out of my chair.

“U-Uhm, what?”

“Well, you just were talking about your caretaker, Ms. Hannigan, and we all kinda assumed your parents were out of town for work. Unless they’re just on a long vacation.” Amy stared at me, waiting for an answer. I felt my heart pound a bit. Had I not told them that my parents had… 

“W-Well… they…” I froze for a moment… “...they’re architects.”

“Really?”

“Y-Yeah, they actually travel out of the country to help design things.” 

Now, you might be asking, why did I lie? Just seems like it’ll make things awkward down the road, or it’ll make my new friends trust me less. The truth of the matter was, I just… hated how people treated me when they found out. They started to act like I was some fragile little thing, ready to shatter at the smallest thing…

I wasn’t fragile. I just wanted to have everyone at least act like everything was normal. That everything was fine.

Everything was fine.

I wasn't fragile.

“That's so cool, what are they working on now?”

“Oh, I don't know, some government building, they can't say much.”

Claudio suddenly snapped his fingers. “Of course! It's so simple, why didn't I think of this before?” He turned to me and grabbed my hands, pulling me up to my feet. “This is it, we're gonna make you the Belle of the ball!”

“P-Pardon?” I blinked a couple of times, he was talking so fast, I was having trouble keeping up.

“You didn't look good in any of the men's clothes because your figure doesn't match the men here!” Claudio pulled me to the monitor, pointing to what was on the screen. “Your figure is a closer match to a woman!”

“W-woman?!”


	10. New Digs, Old Ruins

While Claudio tried desperately to get me to wear something that was much more form fitting than I would have liked ("It shows off your curves!"), Claudio and I finally reached a consensus… form-fitting, but nothing too form fitting.

"I don’t get it though, why don’t men’s clothes fit me?" I asked, turning to look at my butt in a pair of skinny jeans that Claudio insisted I at least try on… and I wasn’t saying no to yet.

"Here, take a look." Claudio walked over to the monitor and flicked away a few things before pulling up a picture of a male and female Mobian. "Males here tend to be rather boxy," he said, drawing a rectangle around the male’s body. "Straight lines, not a lot of variety. Females, on the other hand, have curves, specifically in the chest area and the hips," He traced the figure of the girl with a finger. "While you don’t really conform to either or," He walked back over to me and motioned to my body. "Your body is definitely closer to that of a female. Wearing anything male would just look too baggy on you, it would drown you out."

"And that’s… bad?" I asked, watching the raccoon adjust my outfit a bit.

"You’re a bit more on the petite side hon, any baggier and you’ll just look like a walking laundry pile," He stood back, tapping his cheek with a finger. "...as much as I hate to say it, T-Shirt and jeans look good on you… as long as they’re fitted to your body." I looked back in the mirror at my entire outfit. A dark blue pair of the aforementioned skinny jeans, and a white T-shirt with a gold-ish, graffitied on Fleur de Lis. The shirt was decidedly a woman's fit, hugging to my sides and arms, though definitely not as much as a woman's fit on Earth might have… or I don't know, maybe it did, I've never worn women's clothes before. All in all, though, it more or less clung to my body.

"Um… I-I don't Claudio… it's… a little… snug," I said, turning slowly in the mirror, trying to examine all of my angles.

"And that's bad?" The raccoon smiled, staring me up and down. "You should show off that little body of yours."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about…" I frowned, looking back at Claudio. "...I don't know, I'm just not super comfortable showing so much off I guess." Claudio nodded in understanding, turning back to his screen. He paused for a moment, looking me up and down.

"...well… I might have a remedy for that." He quietly mused, swiping through a few items of clothing before selecting something. "A thin button-up you can wear over the shirt, opened of course. It'll still cut a flattering figure for you, but it won't look quite so form fitting," He shook his head a bit, sighing. "Which is a shame. You have such a nice body." He crossed the room to an entryway, where an employee was already standing, a carefully folded shirt in her arms. He quietly thanked her, taking the shirt and unfurling it. The button-up was checkered white and pastel blue, the sleeves rolled up and secured in place by a small strap of the same material. Claudio moved to me and helped me put it on, fluffing it out a bit and helping it to settle how he liked on my body. He smiled, standing next to Amy and tilting his head. "...What do you think?"

"I think we found it," Amy replied, smiling brightly at me. I looked in the mirror and couldn't help but grin a bit. The shirt gave me a flattering shape, while still giving my body room to breathe. I liked it. "We’ll need a couple more like these. Maybe some heavier choices if it gets cold," Amy continued, standing next to me. "But I think we'll buy this one now." She linked her arm with mine, giving me a small shake. "Now you don't look like you just got out of the hospital!"

I stared at my reflection for a while more before turning to look at Amy. "You don't have to do this," I said quietly. "I mean… I'm just passing through here, right? Once we get the Emeralds, I go home." Amy waved a hand dismissively.

"You need something comfortable to wear while you're here! Then you can take them home as a souvenir," She smiled brightly. "Something to remember us by, and you can brag to all your friends about visiting an alien planet!"

My friends… Amy must have seen my face darken or something, hers growing to look more concerned. She moved in front of me, taking one of my hands. "...you have friends, right?" She asked worriedly. I shrugged a bit.

"I do… or, did? I don't know, I haven't talked to them in a while…" It wasn't a lie this time, I really hadn't talked to any of my old friends. And they don't really talk to me. I don't know... I figured they just don't know what to say. I mean, if I were in their shoes… "We all just got busy doing our own thing."

Amy frowned before linking arms with me again, walking me out of the dressing room. "Well, now you've got some new friends." She said quietly. I felt myself smile just a little wider. I was friends with Amy Rose. How cool is that?

I tried to talk Amy out of buying me the clothes one last time before we made it to the register, but she insisted. When I insisted I would pay her back, she just laughed, saying that I "wasn't going to be here for long" anyway, throwing my words back in my face. I rolled my eyes but relented. I had to admit, I was getting a bit attached to these clothes, and how comfy they were.

Claudio was already at the front desk, rapidly instructing a poor sales clerk about the purchases he was ringing up for me, the discounts that were to be applied, as well as a few other things that were too quick to catch. As soon as he noticed us, he quickly walked up to me.

"Inspiration strikes, how would you like an ear piercing?" He asked excitedly. I quickly, almost instinctively, covered my ear lobes.

"I don't do anything with needles," I said quickly. Needles were, and still are, one of my top phobias, right up there with the dark, and as of yesterday, heights.

"So that rules out the tattoo then as well…" Claudio clicked his tongue a bit before excitedly ripping me from Amy's grasp, dragging me to the counter, where a small wooden box lay. He opened the box, revealing a set of silver charms laid in black felt. "It's a simple accessory, but you pick one of these, and we tie a cord to it, making a stylish but sort of grungy looking necklace that should help inflate your sense of masculinity," I gave the raccoon a funny look. "I know you weren't super into the idea of wearing women's clothes, this should give you a bit more of a… surfer dude look," he explained, motioning to my rather blonde hair and lanky body.

"...these are beautiful…" I said quietly as I looked over each charm one by one. They were all about the size of a quarter, each one a different shape, ranging from a skull and crossbones to a daisy, all of them gleaming brilliantly under the warm lighting in the store. "But I can't, I'm not buying, Amy is, and I don't want to-"

"The first one's free Josh," Claudio cut me off, beaming as if he had just announced I won the lottery, "In celebration for being the first human in my store!" I shifted a bit uncomfortably, recognizing the small guilt welling up in me.

"I don't want to cost the store so much money though…" I replied weakly.

"Oh go on, I make up the profit for one of these puppies in a second, just pick one!" He pushed me to the box, a bit too eagerly, and stood back watching me make my choice. I scanned over the various charms before pointing to a small musical note. Claudio nodded, quickly picking it out before instructing me to turn around. A few moments later, I felt him drape the necklace around my neck and tie it in the back. "There we go… perfect, let’s have a look." I moved forward and turned to him, doing a small spin, holding my arms out. He clapped. "Now the finishing touch..." He looked at his hand before pulling off a simple, silver ring, quickly grabbing my own hand and placing it on my middle finger. "And you’re fabulous!"

"...wait… you’re just… giving me your ring?" I asked quietly.

"And we don’t do returns either before you ask." Claudio quickly turned to the register, punching things in. "This is a gift, for being my first ever human…" He paused, looking up at me. "...and, if all goes well for you… my last," He smiled warmly before continuing to ring things up. "And when you get back to where you’re from, you can tell all your friends about who gave you that ring, because I assume you’re going to wear it always!"

"O-Of course!" What else could I say after something like that? I focused my attention back on the register as he ran the total. "[O] 1,586? What’s the ‘[O]’ mean?"

"Rings," Amy explained, handing over a card. "It’s our currency here."

"Wait, you guys actually use rings here?" I asked, walking over to the register, trying to see how they would pay. Amy raised an eyebrow at me as she pulled a small card out of… somewhere… her pocket I assume.

"Er… yeah…?" She slowly handed the card over to Claudio, who ran it over a small metal plate on the other side of the register screen. The ring sound from the games chimed as the screen showed the payment went through.

"I just… um…" Oh… I hadn’t explained that they were video game characters in my world. This could be awkward… how to play this… "So like… this one on my hand is like… one ring?" I asked. Smooth. Amy relaxed a bit.

"Oh no, not like that…!" She laughed, holding up the card. "All those rings you saw as we walked over here! We use those." I blinked a couple of times.

"...I… uh…" Did we pass by rings? Was I just… not paying attention… totally blind? "I haven’t seen them." Claudio stared at me.

"You don’t have the contact lenses?" He asked, resting his chin on his hand.

"Oh, maybe the hospital staff didn’t put them in because they didn’t know if you’d have an allergic reaction or something…" Amy looked at Claudio expectantly, who nodded, walking into the back. "Have you ever worn contact lenses before?" I shook my head no.

"I’m afraid of poking my eye out…"

"Don’t worry, it’ll be easy, I’ll help you out."

* * *

(What felt like) 42 and a half minutes later

* * *

"You sure you’re ok…?" Tails asked, leaning over the table a bit, staring into my eyes. "They look pretty… red."

"He’s just not used to contacts," Amy replied, picking at a salad. "And if he would’ve stopped blinking so much, I wouldn’t have poked his eye so hard,"

"Sorry…" I replied meekly. Amy just laughed a bit.

"So, how do you like them?" Tails asked, leaning forward on the table a bit.

"I mean, they’re ok…" I rubbed my still slightly irritated eyes and looked around. There wasn’t a whole ton of change, aside from now being able to see a bunch of holographic rings littered about on the sidewalks. As people walked through them, the rings would disappear in a sparkle of golden light. "Though, I’m having some serious questions about how your economy works."

Tails picked up his sandwich, raising it to his mouth. "You and me both," he muttered before taking a bite. Amy rolled her eyes slightly, putting her fork on her plate and throwing the two in a nearby trash can. "So, where are you dragging him off to now Amy?"

"Dragging?!" Amy seemed almost indignant. "I think he enjoyed it!"

"He’s in skinny jeans and something from this month’s Maylena Magazine, and I don't think that was by choice," Tails replied.

"Maylena?" I asked.

"It’s a fashion magazine," Amy replied.

"You read fashion magazines…?" I asked Tails, a bit surprised. He shook his head.

"I just kinda… remember things," He turned and looked at Amy. "She was trying to show Sonic something, I just happened to be in the room."

"You remembered that just from hearing about it?" I looked back at Tails, who was nodding rather casually.

"White women's tee, gold fleur de lis, ‘it’ll hug my hips so well Sonic-’"

"TAILS!" Amy squealed, glaring at the kitsune, who just smiled innocently.

"Sorry, was that a private conversation?" He chuckled. Amy glared at Tails, who simply settled back in his seat, running a hand over his "bangs..." those three little hair pieces that just kinda stick out from his head. "Really, what else are you guys going to do?"

Amy sighed, shaking her head. "We've done all we've come for really. We could go window shopping!"

"Or," Tails quickly cut in before Amy could get too excited. "Why don't we go sightseeing? Josh hasn't seen anything except for the city," Tails held up a small pane of glass, a few white chat bubbles showing up on it. "And Knuckles asked how Josh was doing a little while ago. I think he'll be happy to see that you're walking around."

"He's been asking about me?" I asked, leaning forward and staring at the messages. "He seemed pretty dismissive of me when I saw him,"

"Oh, that's just how he acts," Amy waved her hand. "He's a big softie."

"Uh-huh..." I'd believe it when I saw it. But, I quickly realized, Knuckles might be the guy to talk to if I want to ask some Chaos Emerald related questions, like how we’d find them, how I can use them to get home... I mean, might as well, right? I might not get another chance to. I was about to say more, when-

"You are quite far from home, aren't you young one?" We all turned to face a purple... some kind of animal. Her face was shrouded in a black veil, and she wore a sleeveless black dress that covered most of her features. If I had to guess, she was a leopard or panther due to the spots on her arm.

"Er... yeah... that's kinda obvious..." Tails muttered, seeming to hold back a groan.

"And I see that you have recently changed your wardrobe," The woman continued, staring at me.

"How did you know that?" Amy asked, awestruck.

"Pandora sees all," The woman replied, motioning to herself. "And you left the tags on." There was a swift tug on the back of my shirt before she handed a tag to me. This drew a small chuckle from Tails.

"What else can you tell us Pandora?" Amy asked, leaning forward, her eyes glued to the mysterious woman. Tails scoffed, sinking into his chair and folding his arms.

"May I sit?" Pandora motioned to an empty chair. Amy nodded eagerly, Tails less so. Pandora pulled over the chair and sat down in one fluid motion... everything she did seemed so graceful and with purpose... and her voice was low, a slight purr in it... and she was totally captivating. She had an accent, but I couldn't quite place it. After taking a moment to smooth out her dress, she lifted her veil, revealing her feline face, and a pair of golden eyes. "...you're looking for someone. A brother."

Everyone sat up a bit more. I looked at Tails, who looked surprised, and Amy, who looked absolutely thrilled. "Y-Yeah… h-how'd you know?"

"I see all," She shrugged, reaching into her pocket for something.

"Do you know where Jacob is?" I leaned forward, practically begging for answers. Pandora looked at me with an odd expression... surprised... or maybe amused?

"Jacob? Hm..." She smiled thoughtfully before removing her hand from her pocket, holding something out in a closed fist. "I don't know where, but Jacob is safe... but he is not home. He has been found by those who wish to help him."

Even though I was pretty sure this lady was a fake, hearing her say that made me feel at least a little relieved. Before I could even open my mouth to say something, she took my hand and placed whatever she was holding into it. She wrapped both her hands around mine and looked me dead in the eyes. "...keep this in your pocket," Maybe it was the intense eye contact, but the panther's voice started to sound different. More... intense... almost echoey. "Do not take it out, do not show it to anyone,"

"I-I don't have mone-"

"This is my gift to you. As is this," Pandora reached up and placed two fingers on my forehead. Her voice grew more intense, and my vision started to get a bit... fuzzy... "Upon the day the gem resides on your neck, the brother you seek will be in arms reach," She slowly removed her hands, standing and stepping back a few feet. Tails, Amy, and I all looked down at my hand. She had given me a large ring, about the size of a half dollar, made of about a half inch of some kind of blue gemstone. I looked back up to try to ask what it was... but the feline was gone. Disappeared without a trace.

"...She must have seen into the future!" Amy practically leaped out of her seat to grab the gem from me, holding it up to the light and admiring it. "This must be some kind of magical talisman or something!"

"Oh c' mon, you don't really believe any of that mystic mumbo jumbo do you?" Tails grabbed the gem, examining it closely.

"How else would she have known about Josh's brother?" Amy asked, gesturing to me.

"She probably overheard us talking about him." Tails replied, though he sounded, to me, just a little bit unsure of himself... I don't think we once mentioned my brother since we had got together. Tails was quiet for a while more before handing the ring back to me. "In any case, looks like this is actually pure Sapphire... you could sell this and get a good chunk of change if you wanted to." I held the ring, feeling the weight of it in my hands... it was actually pretty hefty. After a few moments, I slipped the ring into my pocket. "Don't tell me you believe her too...!" Tails sighed.

"Well," I smiled a bit sheepishly, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. "Whether she's real or not... I figure... any help I can get right?" I chuckled a bit. "Even if it's from the supernatural. Besides... back where I'm from, aliens from another planet are real as mystics and psychics. But here you guys so... who knows!"

Tails smiled a bit, shrugging. "I guess so." After a moment, Amy stood, stretching out a bit.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to go. To Angel Island?" She asked, looking down at me and Tails. The kitsune quickly hopped up, guiding us back to the Tornado, while I followed behind.

"Knuckles lives in a place called Angel Island?" I asked, amused by the image of the echidna grumpily living on a tropical island.

"Mhmmm," Tails turned, looking back at me. "It's this big island that can hover!"

"Wait... it floats? Like... actually hovers out of the water?"

"It's not really that kind of island," Tails smiled. "You'll see when we get there."

* * *

When Tails said Angel Island hovered, I imagined that the land, somehow, floated a few feet out of whatever ocean it was part of. But Angel Island was actually miles up in the air, floating above the land below like a large airship. The Island itself looked like someone dug a huge portion of the forest out from the ground, and I half expected to look around and see a giant, Island-sized crater somewhere nearby. As the Tornado drew closer, I could make out something else poking above the trees, a large, stone temple that looked like something the Aztecs might have built. From a distance, the temple looked like it was made of white stone, with just a touch of green in it…

We touched down, and Amy immediately disembarked, pulling out a glass panel from... somewhere behind her back... and typing on it. I carefully climbed out of my seat while Tails gracefully touched down in front of me with the help of his tails. I opened and closed my jaw, trying to pop my ears due to the altitude while taking in the scenery. It was funny... when you were actually on the Island, you couldn't really tell you were miles in the air. You were just in a forest. A beautiful forest at that. The trees, the plants, even the little birds flitting around all seemed to be just a bit more vivid, more vibrant and brightly colored than they would be on Earth.

...wait, little birds?

"There's birds here." I pointed to a nearby nest.

"...yeah." Amy nodded, looking up from her glass for a moment, smiling at the nest.

"...there were birds in the city."

"Yes."

"People birds."

"Mhmmm."

"My doctor was a bird."

"Yup."

"...okay."

Tails motioned for me to follow him. "Just try not to think about it too hard." He said quietly as I drew close. "It's kinda a controversial topic." Judging from Tails' tone, it was something I didn't want to get into. I just nodded. Don't think about the _ birds _.

With that, the three of us started down a small, slightly overgrown trail into the denser parts of the forest. The trees blocked out more and more light as we walked down the path, the air growing cooler around us.

"So... how exactly are we... floating...?" I asked, looking around in awe. The trees were getting taller and taller, dizzyingly so…

"As far as we know, it's because of something called the Master Emerald," Tails explained. "It's basically like a giant, really powerful Chaos Emerald."

"Yeah, Knuckles mentioned it a couple of times..." I said. "Sonic said he's in charge of guarding it? And all the Emeralds too?"

"Yup. He comes from a long line of echidnas that have done the same thing," Tails continued. "He actually kinda thinks of the Master Emerald as some kind of deity, and the Chaos Emeralds are like its disciples or something."

"It's why he was more focused on getting the Chaos Emerald back at the hospital," Amy said. "He's honestly an ok guy, he's just got a one-track mind."

"Sonic said that too..." I chuckled quietly. Hearing that made me feel a little better about going to meet Knuckles. I guess if I had a sacred duty that was passed to me from generations of family, I'd be pretty focused too.

"Hey, I think that's him up ahead...!" Tails said, squinting before waving an arm. I looked down the path to see someone red wave back before jogging towards us. I think Amy picked up on the growing nerves I felt as he got closer, and she gently grabbed my arm.

"Don't worry... he's nice. Promise." She smiled reassuringly, gently squeezing my arm. "Just relax." I nodded, trying to take her advice as Knuckles approached us. He certainly seemed a lot less tense... He crossed his arms, looking me up and down.

"Amy took you to Claudio I take it?" He asked, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. I nodded. "Looks good."

Thanks, I said in my head, too nervous to actually form the words. Amy cleared her throat a bit.

"Knuckles, do you have something to say to our new friend?" Amy asked, giving Knuckles a pointed look. Knuckles suddenly looked a bit... sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah..." He sighed a bit, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry I was so... what's the word..."

"Rude?" Amy suggested, which earned her a dirty glare.

"Focused," I said quietly, moving forward to stand in front of Knuckles. "A-and... it's ok, I understand..." I smiled a bit up at the echidna, which earned me a small smile back. He looked away from me for a moment.

"Still shouldn't act like that..." He replied. "Especially not to someone in your situation. The Chaos Emeralds are just... really important to me. So... that day, I was pretty worried about what was happening to them, what you told me Eggman did to them..." He sighed and shook his head before looking back down at me, extending his hand out. "Forgive me?"

"Of course!" I quickly took his hand (his hand was huge... was everyone's hand this big?), shaking it. "I'm just glad it wasn't something I did." Knuckles laughed a bit.

"The couple times I've seen you, you were either passed out or trying not to cry," He said, giving me a good-natured pat on the back. "You're fine."

He was strong. His pat was more of a smack, which made me stumble forward a couple of steps. It stung, and it reminded me that I needed to maybe take some more pain meds... but at the same time, it felt really, really nice to know that Knuckles actually seemed to like me. Even if the apology was probably at Amy’s insistence, he didn't show any signs that he didn’t really want to apologize to me. Maybe he even thought of me as a friend!

I had friends again!

"W-Woah, did I hit you too hard?"

"No, sorry!" I giggled a bit, wiping my eyes. "Just got something in my eye I think..."

Knuckles gave me a gentler pat on the back as if doing a do-over. "Think we can keep talking back at the temple? I don't want to leave the Master Emerald alone for too long."

"Would you quit worrying?" Amy asked, planting her hands on her hips. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Eggman." He said, looking over at her. "Call it a hunch, but I don't think we've seen the last of him."

"Y-You don't?" I felt my arms get goosebumps, memories of the doctor's glare, and my little trip still fresh in my mind. Knuckles grimaced.

"Not that you have anything to worry about," He said quickly, smiling again. "We won't let him get near you again." I stared up at him, seeing the confidence in his eyes…

"...thanks Knuckles," I said, giving him a little smile. He nodded at me before starting down the path.

"C'mon, we're not too far off. I'll show you where I live."

* * *

Up close, the stone pyramid was incredible. Almost every inch of the stone was covered in intricate line work, depicting different scenes of echidnas fighting, talking, and worshipping a large gem that looked a lot like one of the Chaos Emeralds but... bigger. Any space that wasn't taken up by a drawing was filled by some kind of language made up of different pictures and symbols, almost like hieroglyphics but with some letters thrown in for fun. As we approached the white stone, I ran a careful hand over the lines…

"...it's beautiful..." I said, looking up in awe at the rest of the pyramid. "Do you... just live here?"

"Yup!" Knuckles looked pretty pleased that I liked the place so much. "Surrounded by the history of my people... it's pretty amazing if I do say so myself."

"What language is this?" I asked, looking back over at the Echidna.

"It doesn't really have a name, as far as I know," He said, moving next to me and placing a hand on the stone as well. "I can read some of it, but... the translations to a lot these characters have been lost..." He gazed sadly along a line of text. "...One day... one day I'll find a way to translate all of it..." He was silent for a moment before looking back at me, back to normal again. "Follow me. I wanna show you somethin'." Knuckles made his way to a set of stone steps, motioning me to follow him. I looked over to Amy and Tails, who motioned me to go with him, before I ran over to the steps, walking up alongside the echidna. I looked back to see Amy and Tails weren't following.

"I don't really like it when too many people are up here." Knuckles explained, anticipating my question. "It's... a really special place for me."

"Then why are you taking me up here?" I asked. "What makes me so special?"

"You're my friend, and I want you to see this!" He smiled down at me. "And... well... I wanted to try something..."

I didn't ask any more question as we continued the long climb. The stairs were pretty steep... and my calves were on fire by the time we were halfway up. But Knuckles was nice enough to slow down so I didn't feel like I had to keep up any sort of pace. I decided to take a quick breather and sat on the steps, looking around. We were high enough now that I could see over the tops of the trees.

"...must be nice... living out here..." I said, taking in the scenery. Knuckles sat down next to me, resting his arms on one of his knees.

"Yeah... I'm pretty lucky." He agreed, looking out with me.

"...kinda reminds me of the view from this one mountain my parents used to take us hiking up on the first day of summer." I smiled, the memory of our annual hike playing in my head. "We'd leave super early in the morning and go hiking in the dark. We'd make it to the top and sit down on this one rock and we'd watch the sunrise." Knuckled looked over at me before placing his hand on my shoulder.

"We'll get you back there... don't worry. You'll be hiking with your folks again before you know it," He said, giving me a confident smile.

_ No, I won’t. _

I turned away a bit, pretending to cough in order to hide my quivering lip.

“Alright, I think I’m good… shall we?” I quickly stood up, hurrying up the steps, putting some distance between me and Knuckles until I was able to calm myself down. I looked back at him, smiling and slowing down. “Sorry… used to being tugged around by Amy.”

Knuckles caught up, laughing a bit. “I don’t envy you.” He took the lead again, as we slowly made our way up the steps towards the top.

It took a few more minutes, but we finally made it. We were under what was essentially a large stone pagoda. And by we, I mean me, Knuckles…

And a giant freakin’ Emerald.


	11. The Master Emerald's Vision

Let me try to give you an impression of how absolutely gigantic the Master Emerald is. Imagine a basketball player that's roughly about 6 feet, something inches tall. The Master Emerald would beat that player by about 3 feet, easily. And at the Emerald's thickest, if you held the basketball player horizontally, they'd still be shorter by... a foot probably, maybe more! And it would take four of them hugging the gem to make a full loop around the outside.

If you're still have having a hard time imagining it, think of that boulder from Indiana Jones, and decrease the diameter by... two feet? Yeah, two feet...

The Master Emerald was a brilliant shade of, believe it or not, actual emerald green, probably the most natural looking color I had seen out of all the gems. And the cut was absolutely flawless... totally straight lines, no dents, bulges, scratches... the moment I saw it, I had to stop for a moment just to take it in.

And the power...! I could just feel it radiating out, it made all the hairs on my arm stand on end. I stood next to Knuckles, just staring at the Emerald for a while, taking in its beauty. After a few minutes, the only thing I could say was "woah." Knuckles nodded.

"Yeah. Woah." He stared down at me, chuckling at my expression for a moment before walking over to the Emerald and placing a reverent hand on it. "...I've watched over the Master Emerald, as well as this island for... as long as I can remember. Trying to keep them out of harm's way." He closed his eyes, a small smile on his face. "It's my sacred duty..." He turned to look at me. "Do you believe in spirits, Josh?"

"Um... I'm religious if that's what you're asking," I replied, shrugging a bit, "So, I guess?" Knuckles motioned me over to him, taking my hand once I was close enough and placing it on the Emerald. The gem was cool to the touch, despite being in the sun.

"I believe that, in this Emerald, there's a powerful Spirit that's been watching over Mobius since... forever," He said, rubbing the Emerald's side a bit. "And when I pray to it, I believe it listens, and it even answers." He looked over at me. "...reason I wanted to bring you up here was actually because I wanted to pray with you, see if we could get any help for you. Is that okay?"

"Knuckles..." I was at a bit of a loss for words. From what I knew from video games and first impressions, I thought he was a gruff, tough, non-social type guy... not this... "Of-Of course, I'm... I'm honored." Knuckles smiled and nodded, standing back and telling me to stand beside him. He walked me through the process slowly and carefully, both of us taking a moment first to kneel, bowing our heads. We said a few phrases in the ancient language Knuckle's clan used, which were basically meant to say thank you for the many things the Spirit of the Emerald had provided to the planet and its many people, as well as a few other things that Knuckles, sadly, didn't know the meaning of. We then began to walk around the Emerald, one time for each of the Spirit's closest servants, the Chaos Emeralds.

"Do you have to do this every time you pray for help?" I asked quietly, not wanting to break the reverent atmosphere.

"Technically no, but every time I am able to, I do," He replied. "It shows the proper respect, and it's good preparation for me to make sure I'm in the right mindset. A time to reflect and meditate, and to ponder on what I'm asking about, to make sure it's really something worth asking."

"Is... is this worth asking?" I asked. Knuckles looked over at me, smiling.

"Of course."

Once we finished the seventh lap, Knuckles stopped in front of the Emerald again, guiding me to his right side and instructing me to kneel. "When you're praying, only the person offering the prayer stands. As soon as that person finishes, they kneel down again, to show that we're all the Master Emerald's humble and willing servants." I nodded, watching as Knuckles closed his eyes and raised his hands into the air, tilting his head up a bit. His voice took on a different tone, something official, full of power. "Oh Master Emerald, we come before you humbly, seeking your help and guidance. This young servant has been separated from his little brother. He seeks comfort in knowing that his brother is safe, and knowledge in where he is. Please, great Master, grant us this wish." Knuckles quickly knelt on the ground, dropping to a knee and bowing his head. A reverent silence filled the space as I stared down at the stone floor... but after a while, I began to wonder if anything was supposed to happen. I was about to ask, when I felt... something. A tugging... not like something physical, but like... in my heart. I looked up at the Master Emerald, feeling that tugging get a bit stronger. I slowly stood, not really controlling my movements but just letting them happen as I drifted forward. The Master Emerald began to glow, and the world around me darkened, tunnel vision making the Emerald the only thing that really mattered. As I got close, I was vaguely aware of a voice behind me, a concerned one, but it quickly disappeared as I raised a hand and made contact with the Master Emerald's glassy surface.

* * *

...

...

...

Where... where am I...?

This isn't my old house...

This isn't my room...

I blinked a few times. This wasn't a ceiling I knew. I slowly sat up. Man, I was sore...! Why was I sore? Why was I in a hospital? What happened?

Stop. Think. What was the last thing you remember?

...We were running from Eggman robots...

...we hid behind a building...

...we started to use Chaos Control...

...Josh was...

I felt my blood run cold. Josh was taken by those robots! When I felt him get ripped away, I stopped thinking of the old house and panicked, and ended up...

...here. In... this place. Which was...

Well, it was a hospital. Been in those enough times to recognize one. But it was usually because I've had a broken bone from longboarding, but those were always in and out... I've definitely never just woken up in one. Weirdest thing, I couldn't tell what was wrong with me. I mean, yeah, I hurt like crap all over, but... no wounds, nothing broken, no bandages or anything. I wasn't even in a hospital gown! I was just dressed how I was before... black t-shirt with my favorite rock band and some jeans.

Ok, focus Jake. There's an easy way to get answers. I swung my legs over the side of the bed (oof) and stood (ouch), slowly walking to the door (ow) and opening it, looking outside.

I said a bad word.

The attention of a dozen Mobian doctors and nurses turned towards me. Holy crap they were tall! Sonic X taught me that these guys would probably come up to my knee, maybe a little higher... Obviously, they were wrong. I was still grappling with the fact that MOBIANS ARE FREAKIN' REAL when I heard a really familiar voice.

"You're awake!"

I turned and said another bad word, in my head this time though. Silver the Hedgehog was beaming at me, quickly standing and walking over to me.

Marijuana Hedgehog is a tall boi (And if you don't get why that's funny, look up a picture of Silver, it'll take you about 5 seconds to get it), standing at least... I dunno, a head taller than me. But he looked exactly like how he did in the video games... but... furrier. HD. He tilted his head.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked, his smile quickly turning to a worried frown.

"You're real...!"

Smooth Jake.

Silver squinted a bit, before letting out a confused chuckle. "Uh... y-yeah, I'm real. Maybe we should get you back in bed-"

"N-No, sorry, I... I'm fine, it's... there's... um..." I shook my head, trying to get my thoughts in some kind order. "What's going on?"

"Well, what do you remember?" Silver asked, moving over to a chair and pulling another in front of him, inviting me to sit. I did. "Tell me as much as you know, then I'll pick up where you left off." Fair enough.

"...Well..."

Over the next 15 minutes, what started as me just trying to explain the day's events ended up with me pretty much telling Silver my life story due to his questions. What my name was, my birthday, my family, how I ended up in an orphanage (glad I was too hopped up on adrenaline to be emotional), the robots, the kidnapping, and-

"You're all video game characters on my planet." I blurted out. I thought that maybe I shouldn't blow his mind, but it kinda just... slipped out. He definitely looked surprised for a moment... until a wide grin spread across his muzzle.

"...I'm in a video game?" He asked, leaning forward a bit. "Am I popular?"

"Uh... y-yeah, pretty popular, at least among fans." I replied. It wasn't a lie. I think.

"And is my game fun?"

"Er... w-well, n-"

"Silver!" Another voice came from down the hall, again, very familiar. I looked past Silver to see a purple cat hurrying down the hall, a cup in her hands. "I told you to come get me when he woke up!"

"Blaze...!" I gasped, standing up quickly (OW). She was, again, quite tall, just a little shorter than Silver, but not by much. And so fluffy... Blaze looked over at me, scanning me up and down.

"Sorry Blaze... I just got a bit excited..." Silver rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. Blaze shook her head at Silver for a moment.

"Are you alright?" She asked me, gently pushing me back down in my seat.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, just really sore." I replied, unable to take my eyes off of her. She commanded the attention of the room... her aura, her presence, how she spoke... She certainly acted like royalty. She nodded to a doctor, who handed her a pill. She held it out, as well as the cup.

"Take this," she said. I took the pill, quickly swallowing it with the water in the cup. I nodded, thanking her quietly before looking at the two of them.

"...so... why am I here?" I asked. "...is my brother here?"

"Brother?" Blaze asked, looking over at Silver. He sadly shook his head.

"...we saw a bright flash of light in the mountains... when we investigated, we found you passed out in the snow, which is why we brought you here. We thought you might have hypothermia..." He sighed a bit, his golden eyes leveling with mine. "...but we didn't find anyone else... we checked to make sure. You were alone..."

I went quiet. No one spoke for a while. I stood up again.

"Eggman took him." I said, looking at the two. "Not your Eggman, Sonic's Eggman. Which means..."

"...you're in the wrong dimension." Blaze finished quietly. I nodded, clenching my fists and digging my nails into my palms. Josh was in the clutches of a bad guy... a bad guy that wasn't anywhere near where I was, no matter how far I traveled, no matter where I looked. My only family was about as separated as two people could be... and I didn't know what to do.

But I had to do something.

"Ok... so what can we do?" I asked, "How do we get over there? The Sol Emeralds?"

"How do you-"

"We could, but we need to go find them." Silver said, standing up as well. "They've been scattered. We haven't really had much reason to find them until now."

"Excuse me-"

"Great, let's go!" I said excitedly.

"Silver-"

"Slow down, we need to get you discharged from the hospital fir-"

"GUYS!!!" Silver and I jumped and looked at Blaze, who was looking equal parts confused and frustrated. She turned and looked at me. "Who are you, how'd you get here, and how do you know about the Sol Emeralds?"

* * *

The sun bore down on us as we walked out of the hospital out into the parking lot. And it was a parking lot. Like, a normal parking lot. With cars. Not cars you would recognize from Earth of course, these looked like they were made of solar panels or something, but cars. It didn't look radically different from Earth... but at the same time, I can't say it looked at all the same. As I looked down the main street, it was lined with buildings that looked like they came out of Sherlock Holmes or something, but with modern amenities built into them... holographic signs for shops, vents pumping out mist to keep people cool, lights, music... it was an amazing combination of old and new.

"I'll be back just as soon as I can," Blaze said, nodding at the two of us. "Stay together, I'll call you if something happens Silver." Silver nodded, and stood back a bit, pulling me with him. Blaze quickly turned, and her FREAKING FEET CAUGHT ON FIRE as she blasted off down the road, heading up a hill towards...

...woah...

At the top of a hill lined with more buildings, as well as a few tropical looking trees, was an amazing castle, straight out of a storybook. Sparkling white walls, red trim, and the whole thing seemed to be shining in the sun. It was perfect.

"Blaze... lives there?" I asked.

"Yup," Silver smiled, putting a hand on his hips. "It's a pretty awesome place if you ever get the chance to go in. But, usually, the only way you can get in is if you're part of the royal family, or if you're invited." He shakes his head. "I mean, I'm one of her best friends and even I've only been in once or twice."

"Dude, really? That sucks..." I frowned... I wanted to go in that castle so bad...

"Security has to be tight up there," Silver started walking in the opposite direction, towards a bunch of shops. "Especially with Eggman Nega running around somewhere... you never know..." Silver grit his teeth a bit at the mention of his arch nemesis... but it was gone the next second as he let out a puff of air. "Sorry. He makes me a little mad... you know about him, right?"

"Yeah, of course," I nodded. "He's like Eggman if he shopped at Hot Topic,"

"Er... s-sure..." Silver obviously didn't understand my joke, which... makes sense, they probably don't have Hot Topic here...

"Sorry, dumb joke," I laughed, following Silver down the street. "So, once Blaze gets back, then what?"

"Then we go Emerald hunting," Silver had an excited grin on his face. "Another big adventure."

The adorable bean. His excitement was contagious! It did feel like he might have been playing it up a bit to make me feel more relaxed about the whole thing, especially when he started going on about how he was going to show me around their world, take me to some islands... but it was nice of him to do it. And it really did make me feel pretty excited! I mean, it's not every day that you get to go adventuring with Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat!

I mean, they were no Sonic, but I'll take all the help I could get. But thinking of Sonic made my thoughts drift to Josh... what was he doing... was he okay?

As much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't help but imagine him just going along with whatever Eggman wanted of him... before our parents died, he was pretty independent and outspoken, even had a bit of a temper (I got that from him). But after... he's just shut down... I mean, we both did, but...

Sonic... wherever you are... please, help my brother before... before...

"Jake?" Silver snapped me out of my thoughts, holding out a styrofoam cup filled with, what looked like, soft serve ice cream, topped with some small, red berries (I think), and a wedge of fruit (I think?) that resembled pineapple (I think???). I took the cup, and a plastic spoon Silver handed me as well.

"Thanks," I said, taking a bit of the ice cream onto the spoon. "What is it?"

"Tropical Fruit Freeze," He replied, taking a large spoonful from his own cup. "Just what you need on a hot day." I watched as he practically glowed after the first bite, his eyes closing.

The. Adorable. Bean.

After watching him for a few moments, I popped my own spoonful into my mouth... and was relieved it tasted familiar. It was pineapple. And those "berries" were just those bursting boba thingies Josh always liked to put in his frozen yogurt. But man did it taste good... I quickly wolfed down a few more spoonfuls, ignoring Silver's laugh.

"Do you always eat like this?" He asked, taking another small morsel of his treat. I nodded.

"Especially when I'm hungry," I said after swallowing what was in my mouth. "Feels like I haven't eaten at all!"

"Why didn't you say so," Silver quickly took my arm, pulling me further down the street to a much more open area, a park by the looks of it. And the smell...

"Oh... gosh..." My eyes actually fluttered shut. My body shivered. When I regained control, I just stared. Food carts, as far as the eye could see... As we strolled through the park, gazing at everything that was being offered, I felt my stomach growling.

"See anything you want?" Silver asked, clearly amused by my expression.

"All of it..." I muttered, slowing as I stared at a fox carving meat off a large skewer to make gyros... He looked up at me, smiling and waving a bit. Which was a nice gesture, but it made me think of something... "Hey... do you have any other humans like me here?"

"Humans? Aside from Nega, no." Silver waved back at the fox, pausing to see if this was what I wanted. I did. I really really did.

"It's just... people don't seem all that freaked out by how I look." I continued as we walked up to the stand, Silver ordering for us. The fox actually answered me this time.

"We get all types around these parts. From all over actually." He began preparing the gyros, looking up at us occasionally. "You're the first human I've really seen in person, but I usually see something new every week."

"Er... yeah, what he said," Silver nodded, paying the man with... some kind of material... "You never know what you'll see when you live here... you're pretty par for the course honestly. Not in a bad way!" He quickly corrected. "Just... you'll fit in just fine." He handed me the food (it was so gooood...), and we were on our way again. Silver lead me through the park a little more before finding a shadier spot underneath some trees. We sat and ate quietly for a while, before he looked over at me. He seemed hesitant to speak... I knew the look all too well.

"Wondering what happened to my parents?" I asked, looking over at him. He nodded. "...Well... I'm sorry but... I just don't want to talk about it right now," I looked forward. "It's... still pretty fresh, you know?"

"Can I ask how fresh?"

"Less than a year."

"Wow..."

There was silence once more before I turned to look at Silver again. He looked like how most people do when they ask and I tell them what I did: Guilty. Like they just found out they killed my dog or something. I nudged him a bit.

"Hey... don't feel bad," I said as reassuring as I could. "You didn't make me feel bad or anything. I just don't want to talk about it right now, you know?" I leaned back a bit. "It makes me sad talking about what happened, and... I just don't want to be right now."

"But... you're doing ok?" He asked.

"Yeah. Most days." I shrugged. "But now I have a question for you."

"Oh, uh, sure!" Silver sat up a bit. "What's up?"

"Can you really... you know..." I held my hand out and wiggled my fingers, pretending to levitate something. Silver smiled, finishing up his gyro and crumpling up the paper it was served in... It suddenly started to glow blue, and Silver let go. The wrapper was suspended in the air, and slowly started floating over to a nearby trash can.

"Woah..." I said quietly. "And... can you do that to anything?" I got an answer when I felt my butt leave the ground. I was almost half expecting to feel some kind of weird fuzzy aura or something surrounding my body... but it was nothing like that, just the sensation that I was floating off the ground. Silver slowly lowered me again, a confident smile on his face. "...woah."

"Right?" He took my trash and simply tossed it into the can this time. "I try not to rely on them too much though. I don't want to get lazy." He stretched his arms a bit... gotta admit, I was surprised. In the games, his body just looked kind of bean shaped, smooth, but up close, I could see he was build a little more... I don't know, I don't want to say he just looked like a guy in a furry suit (I mean, how weird would that be? Hahahaha...), but he had muscle... I could see the places where his fur contoured and bulged out a bit. He had a runner's body, that's for sure. He lowered his arms, and his body was back to normal. He stood, holding a hand out to me. "Wanna look around some more?"

"Duh!" I eagerly took his hand, letting him help me stand up (I wasn't sore anymore, but I was pretty stiff), and looking around. "Lead the wa-"

* * *

My eyes darted around, scanning everything around me.

White stone temple.

Master Emerald.

Purple eyes-

"Josh!"

I felt myself get shaken a bit.

"Focus on me, c'mon!"

I felt my breathing slow back to normal as I stared into Knuckle's eyes. I felt him release his grip on my arms, taking a step back. "You ok...?" He asked me quietly, looking me up and down. I wasn't sure. I felt out of breath, my heart was beating a mile a minute, I was sweating, I felt like I wanted to cry...

"...J...Jacob..." I muttered, looking back at the Master Emerald again. "I-I saw... I saw Jacob..." My mind was spinning... it wasn't like I just saw Jacob, it's like I WAS him for a little while. I saw as he saw, felt as he felt, spoke as he spoke... the taste of meat and feta cheese was still on my tongue. He was... he was so close. I practically lunged at the Emerald again, pressing my hand to the firm surface... but nothing happened. I slow dropped my hand. Knuckles was silent as he slowly walked up to me.

"...Josh...?" He spoke quietly, as if he was afraid I was going to suddenly snap. I didn't really say anything. I didn't know what to say. Jake was here... and then he was gone just as quickly. He was so close... and then he became so incredibly far away. I could go anywhere, to any planet, as far as I wanted, and he wouldn't be there.

Knuckles put a hand on my shoulder, gently pulling me away from the Master Emerald, guiding me towards the stairs, and sitting me down. I felt the wind blow against my face... it helped a bit. "...Josh, what did you see?" Knuckles asked, sitting next to me. I pressed my lips together for a moment.

"...can... can I just... tell you guys at once?" I asked, already feeling my throat tighten a bit. Knuckles nodded.

"Think you can walk down the stairs?" He asked, standing me back up again. My legs were shaking, but not enough that I couldn't walk. I nodded, and the two of us started back down the stairs, Knuckles keeping close watch on me. The long walk gave me some time to calm down, assess what I saw. Jacob was in another dimension, but he was being helped, just like the fortune teller said. I recognized Silver and Blaze from Sonic Generations, when I watched Jacob play, but I didn't really know too much about them... I could only assume he was in good hands.

He told them about our parents... Maybe... I could...

No. No one needs to know. I didn't want to talk about it. The less I thought about it the better.

I thought I heard Knuckles groat just a bit as we finished our descent and began walking towards everyone... Sonic had joined Amy and Tails. The small group didn't notice us coming down, too involved in a conversation, but Tails perked up when he saw us touch ground. He waved a bit as we got close.

"Hey, how'd it go?" He asked, Amy and Sonic stepping out of the way a bit to let us into the little circle they had formed.

"Uh, it... it was..." I licked my lips. How to put this... "...interesting."

"Were you crying?" Sonic squinted, leaning a bit closer to me. I started to shake my head as I reached up to touch my cheeks... only to find that they were actually still a bit damp. I even found a small, lingering tear...

"...I...guess I was..." I said quietly, feeling a blush rise to my face. I quickly wiped my eyes. "Sorry, I... I don't really... um..." This wasn't helping me... my emotions already felt so ragged... now I was embarrassed for apparently crying again in front of people I respected. "I... it... it was all kinda confusing..."

"Here, sit down again..." Knuckles suggested, gently pushing me down to sit in the soft grass. Everyone did the same, staring at me, waiting for some kind of explanation... I did my best. I told them everything I remember, right up to touching the Master Emerald, where Knuckles took over for moment. Apparently, when I touched the Emerald, I just freaked out. I stopped moving, I began to breath fast, I began to sweat and overheat... but it lasted for only a few seconds before Knuckles pulled me away. I then told my part... everything I saw.

"Well, you won't have to worry about him not being protected," Sonic smiled. "Sounds like he's in good hands."

"What do we do though?" I asked, looking over at Sonic worriedly. "He's... I mean, he's in a totally different dimension, can the Chaos Emeralds get us over there?"

"Absolutely," Sonic said. "Do you want to give it a shot now? We already have one, and that was all your brother needed to get over there."

That's right... maybe we were closer to getting home than I thought! I nodded quickly, standing up. Knuckles reached behind him and pulled the yellow Chaos Emerald I stole out from... somewhere... and handed it to Sonic. Sonic motioned me over to him as he stood, taking me a few feet away from the rest of the group. He held the Emerald in both his hands.

"Put your hands on top of mine," He instructed. "I don't know if we need to be touching, but let's not take chances." I nodded, placing my hands on his large gloved ones. Sonic closed his eyes, and I did the same, thoughts of my brother filling my head. Sonic took a deep breath in. "Chaos Control!" He shouted, his yell echoing across the clearing...

We both opened our eyes... nothing happened. He frowned a bit.

"...ok, you hold it this time. Maybe it'll respond to you better, since you know more about where your brother is and what he looks like." Sonic suggested. I shrugged before nodding. Worth a shot. Sonic held the Emerald out to me, placing it in my hand.

The moment he placed it in my hand, there was a bright flash!

...and the Emerald was gone...!


	12. Let's Get Down to Business

There was silence between us as Sonic and I looked at my empty hands for what felt like an eternity. We looked at each other. Then back at my hands again.

"...what happened?" I asked, too stunned to really process any other emotion other than "what the actual heck".

"...I don't know..." Sonic replied. He looked over at the group, who looked just as equally stunned and confused... aside from Knuckles, who looked like he might throw up. He stood up shakily, stumbling towards us. He made it to me and grabbed my hands, examining them, turning them over and over.

"...where... where did it go...?" He asked, his voice a bit shaky.

"I don't know..." I replied quietly. "...d-did I Chaos Control it away...?"

"No, something else would have happened to us if you did," Sonic said, backing away as Knuckles continued to desperately search my hands. "Knuckles, he doesn't have it."

"Then where is it?" Knuckles shrieked, holding one of my hands up. Something suddenly flashed in my eye, temporarily blinding me. I yelped and yanked my hand back to cover my eyes, before slowly pulling my hand away... did the Emerald reappear? I quickly looked around, hoping to see the Emerald. Sonic chuckled a bit, less out of humor, more out of still sounding unsure of what to do, walking over to me again and holding up my hand.

"It was your ring," He said, laughing a bit more.

"How can you laugh at a time like this, the Chaos Emerald is gone!" Knuckles practically moaned, putting his hands on his head. "We just found it, and now it's gone again-"

"Relax Knux, geez," Sonic waved a hand, finding his confidence again. "We'll find them, just like always!"

I stepped back a bit, letting them have it out for a moment, Knuckles freaking out more, and Sonic trying to pass it off as just one extra step we had to take. I, meanwhile, wanted to check something... Claudio's ring, as silver and polished as it was, wasn't all that shiny… was it? I held my hand up, trying to catch it in the sun again...

Woah. That's not Claudio's ring.

It was the same size and shape... but this was not Claudio's ring. It was made of glass. Red glass, like… a bright, fiery red.

...or... no it's green, like, grass green...

...or ocean blue...

As I moved the ring, it changed color. And it wasn't like it was refracting light, like a prism or something, the glass itself was changing color. I kept moving it, sweeping it across myself.

Yellow, a lighter blue, purple, an opaque white... and then clear, totally colorless. I went in the opposite direction...

White, purple, light blue, yellow, blue, green, red.

Seven colors.

...holy crap.

Holy crap!

"Guys...!" I called out, continuing to wave my hand back and forth across my body. Everyone turned to look at me, probably wondering why I was doing some really weird, slow motion stretches. "Look…" I slowly walked over to everyone, my eyes never leaving my ring. Sonic held Knuckles back as he started to rush forward, and let Amy get to me first. She stared at my hand, gasping immediately, noticing the difference.

"Your ring…!" She exclaimed, prompting Tails to come over and examine it as well. He thought for a moment as Sonic and Knuckles joined us, taking a look as I slowly moved my hand.

"It changes to seven different colors," I said, "That means-"

"It might be showing us where the seven Chaos Emeralds are!" Sonic finished, a wide smirk crossing his face. "This just got a whole lot easier!"

"This must be a gift from the Master Emerald," Knuckles spoke quietly, almost reverently. He looked over at me, awe written all over his face. "You must be part of something big…"

"Please don't say that," I squeaked. My stomach did a flip. "I'm just trying to get back home, I don't want to go on some sacred mission."

"You might not have a choice," Knuckles frowned. "For whatever reason, the Master Emerald chose you to-"

"Lay off Knucklehead," Sonic interrupted, giving Knuckles a light smack on the shoulder. "We're just gonna find what we need and get him home. Right dude?" He smiled at me, winking and giving me a thumbs up. "You'll be out of here in no time!"

I nodded but didn't feel quite so sure. My palms were getting a familiar sheen of sweat again… my heart pounded for a moment. I was Creeped... which, to me, meant Sonic didn't believe what he just said. Sonic stared at me longer than I think he meant to before he put his hands behind his head.

"Anyway, why don't we head back to my place for now. We can figure out what we're gonna do there," He suggested, looking around at everyone.

"Good idea," Tails nodded. "I'll see if I can figure out where the Chaos Emeralds are, maybe even a way to pinpoint their exact location."

"I'm gonna stay here…" Knuckles gazed up at the top of the temple. "I'll try and see if I can find the Emeralds too, and maybe look into what your brother is doing, see what their plan is." I nodded gratefully… as much as I wanted to stay up there with him, I had a feeling Tails really wanted me in his workshop… maybe I can have him bring me back up later. We said our goodbyes, made our way back through the forest, and made it to the plane again. As Tails and Amy began to prepare for launch, Sonic hung back, stopping me.

"You ok Josh?" He asked. "You acted a bit weird a little while ago… you looked kinda… I dunno, sick."

"Huh?" Did… did he notice my Creepy Senses? No, no way, only Jacob was able to tell, and that was because he was with me all the time... "Yeah, I'm fine. Just… you know…" I motioned around me, to the ring, to Sonic himself. "Every new problem we get, the more worried I feel."

"I get that," Sonic shrugged before patting me on my shoulder. "But hey, you're in good hands. Tails is the smartest guy I know, and I can get anything he needs to be done in a flash." Sonic winked again (he liked doing that), before patting me on the back, both as another reassuring gesture and as sort of a "let's get going" signal. He hopped onto a wing opposite Amy as I climbed into the front seat. The plane rumbled as the engines started up, the propeller began to spin, and before I knew it, we took off into the air, flying back to Tails' warehouse. It was too loud to really talk to anyone or ask questions... so it left me pretty introverted and self-reflective, pretty much ignoring everything else going on around me. I began to review everything we had just learned.

On one hand, I was really grateful to find out where Jacob was... Someone found him and had agreed to help him. But he wasn't home. He wasn't safe. He was far, far away. And what were we going to do once we had a way to get back home? I didn't see enough of the vision to figure out what he, Silver, and Blaze were going to do. What was his plan? Did the Sol Emeralds, whatever those were, work like the Chaos Emeralds? If we both used Chaos Control, did we risk maybe accidentally swapping worlds? And on the topic of Chaos Emeralds, why were the Chaos Emeralds so far apart? I just dropped them out of Eggman's ship, I didn't really try to scatter them. But, and I double checked in the plane to make sure, my ring was showing that the Chaos Emeralds were spread across various places... Did this have something to do with why the Emerald disappeared from my hands?

I rested my head on the front of my cockpit, or whatever it was called, feeling the cool metal against my forehead. This... sucked. Most people in fanfiction were ecstatic to be amongst their childhood heroes and/or celebrity crushes... and at first, it was incredibly exciting. Now... I just had a headache, not to mention a heartache. I suddenly just felt so... lethargic. I closed my eyes, readjusting so I was resting my head on my arms...

* * *

Running. Running as fast as I can. The hallway stretched on forever, but there had to be a door or an exit... something. Right? I turned around. He was getting closer. Eggman grinned, baring his pointy teeth, his death machine surging closer and closer. I felt a large buzzsaw barely miss my back. He kept getting closer, and I just couldn't keep up the pace. I felt myself trip and fall, hitting the ground hard. I turned over just in time to see the machine bear down on me, and I screamed out for help...

* * *

"Josh," I snapped up, taking in a soft breath before locking eyes with Sonic, who was giving me a small shake. He smiled once he saw me focus on him. "Have a nice nap?" He asked, holding out a hand and helping me out of the plane.

"Yeah..." I rubbed my eyes. What a nightmare... not as bad as my usual, but still... it just reminded me of yet another problem, a mad doctor that probably didn't harbor very pleasant feelings for me was also looking for the Chaos Emeralds. And, despite how cartoonish Eggman was, he was really dangerous. He keeps trying to kill Sonic. Like... actually kill, not just capture or hinder, _kill. _And based on the brief exchange we had before I fell, I wouldn't be surprised if Eggman had added me to his hit list as well.

"Hey!" I looked around again. Sonic was already at the door to the house, waving me over. "You coming?" He called out. I nodded, shaking away my thoughts and hurrying through the door.

Inside, Amy had settled in at the kitchen table, doing something on her phone, while Sonic leaned against the kitchen counter, looking over at me. "You hungry?" He asked, standing up.

"Kinda..." I replied, moving into the room. I hadn't eaten with Tails and Amy while we were in the city, my stomach not feeling ready for food yet, but... now that it was much later in the afternoon, I was starving. Sonic nodded and walked over to a stove, pulling out a pot.

"Oh, don't feed him that!" Amy cried out, looking a bit disgusted.

"What?" Sonic looked over his shoulder as he pulled a can of something out of a cabinet. "I'm yet to find one person who hasn't felt at least a little better after having a chili dog." Amy rolled her eyes and went back to her phone as Sonic dumped the contents of the can into the pot, stirring it. The smell of something somewhat spicy yet somewhat sweet filled the room, and my stomach rumbled just a bit. I slowly sat down at the table, watching Sonic cook.

"Hey," Amy whispered, quietly reached over, grabbing my arm and leaning forward a bit. "If you don't want to eat it, you don't have to. He won't be offended, promise."

"Ok..." I nodded, looking back over at Sonic. He was humming some upbeat tune to himself as he got out some hot dogs, putting them in the microwave, and returning to the chili. For a moment, the kitchen was calm, filled only with the sound of the microwave whirring, the sound of stirring, and Sonic's soft humming.

I took in a deep breath... and let it out slowly.

So much had happened today in a relatively short period of time. It felt like ages since I was able to just... stop. We weren't in a busy city, or on an enchanted island with a possible deity. We weren't trying to figure out how to fling two kids across the cosmos to get back to their planet. We were just at someone's house. Someone was cooking me a late lunch.

I stared out a nearby window, watching the world outside for a while and just listening... Sonic's voice was surprisingly melodious... very soft and smooth... almost effortless, like he wasn't really _trying_ to hum, he was just doing it. The microwave beeped quietly, Sonic prepared a few things, and he placed a warm plate in front of me. I stared at what was below me... basically, a hot dog, covered in chili. A chili dog. Sonic sat down next to me, almost immediately digging into a dog of his own, taking a large bite and, somewhat noisily, chewing. I carefully picked up my chili dog, holding it for a moment and blowing on it to cool it down, before taking a bite.

It was warm. It was savory. It was just the right balance of sweet and spicy. And it felt amazing in my stomach... I settled back a bit into my seat, a wave of exhaustion hitting me. My body felt sore again. I didn't move for a moment, before groaning a bit as I sat back up.

"Do you still have those painkillers...?" I asked, closing my eyes and trying to stretch out a bit. Sonic nodded, quickly standing and hurrying over into the living room we were in last night, coming back with a bright red bottle that almost looked like an old film canister with a medical label on it. He opened the top, handing me a couple of pills, before going over into the kitchen area and getting a cup. "...my brother was sore too..." I said quietly, letting out another small groan. "Is this because of the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Probably," Amy replied. "Using a Chaos Emerald is a pretty intense experience... Sonic passed out the first time he used all seven."

"You're lucky you were just holding onto one," Sonic said as he came back, placing the water in front of me. "You could have really been hurt," Now, call me crazy, but... he almost sounded... worried. "Your parents would kill me if I let anything happen to you,"

I felt a familiar bit of darkness pool inside me. I quickly took another bite of chili dog. Warmth.

"...Hey, uh... speaking of you using the Chaos Emeralds..." Sonic looked a bit puzzled now. "I've been wondering this for a while... how did you guys know how to use Chaos Control? And Chaos Blast?" He shook his head. "And you said my name when I saw you in the hospital that first time. I mean... where did you learn... any of that?"

Uh-oh. ...Welp, this'll either go really good or really bad.

"...There are... actually a whole lot of people who know about you guys," I started slowly, trying to gauge their reactions. "...you guys are video game characters!" I smiled a bit, chuckling sheepishly. "...surprise...!"

There was a brief moment of silence as Sonic and Amy digested the information.

"So... like... I star in a video game?" Amy asked, leaning forward slowly.

"...k-kinda? You're in a bunch of them, but... the games are more about... him..." I said hesitantly, pointing at Sonic. He laughed, his chest puffing out a bit.

"Heh, you guys have good taste," He said cockily, planting a hand on his hip. "I hope they're good games,"

Do I tell him? ...better not.

"Yup. All good."

Nailed it. Sonic looked ready to launch into a few more questions, when Tails came through the door, looking a bit worried. We all turned to look at him, waiting for him to say something. He looked at all three of us, looking like he was debating whether or not he should say what he came here to say, before sighing.

"...Eggman's already on the hunt." He said, holding up his phone. Sonic walked over and took it, examining what looked like a news article from where I was sitting. He frowned, looking back at me for a moment before turning back to Tails. He didn't say anything for a little while, just staring at the article.

"...we have to hurry..." He said quietly, handing the phone back. "Josh, I want you to come with us,"

"What?!" Amy stood up, moving in front of me. "No way, I don't care what Knuckles said, we talked about this last night, you can't make him-"

"Eggman's gonna be looking for him too, not just the Emeralds." Sonic cut her off. "You know him, Ames, if anyone crosses him, he'll go after them." I felt a shiver run down my spine, which Sonic took notice of. He looked at me sympathetically, walking over and settling me back down in my chair. He sat next to me, pulling his chair a bit closer. "...I know... this is really out of your comfort zone," He began, "But... this is the best way I can think of to keep you safe. If you're in one place for too long, Eggman will find you. And as much as I trust Amy and Tails to protect you, if something goes wrong, I can run faster than anyone. I can get you somewhere safe." He looked over at Amy, who nodded a bit reluctantly.

"He's right..." She conceded, crossing her arms. "If Eggman somehow overpowered me and Tails, we wouldn't be able to get very far without him catching up to us."

"And, with that ring of yours, we'll have a better idea of where the Chaos Emeralds are-"

"Wait, hold on," Amy suddenly cut in. "I'll agree he's safer with you, but why can't Tails invent something to make it easier for you guys. Or even better, you stay with him, and we go looking with Tails' machine!"

"I tried that already," Tails replied, showing us his phone again. He pulled up a map and tapped a few things, before his screen suddenly filled with a bunch of error messages. "The Emeralds aren't like they were before. Eggman supercharged them, remember? And they're putting out so much energy, my scanners are getting overloaded. No matter what I've tried so far, nothing's worked." He pointed to my hand. "That ring is the best thing we've got so far," Amy grumbled a bit, obviously trying to think of something else.

"Ames..." Sonic stood, walking over to her. "...I don't like it all that much either... but..." He paused, then looked back over at me. "...how do you feel about it? Any better ideas?"

"No..." I stood up as well. "But honestly... the faster we find those things, the faster I can get back to Jake. If that means that I have to go along, I'll do it." Maybe it was the pain meds, but I was starting to feel this weird sense of... I wouldn't call it bravery. Determination I guess. "I just want my brother back." Sonic smiled just a bit.

"...then let's get to it." He replied.

* * *

Tails' workshop was tucked neatly against one of the side walls of his small aircraft hangar. It had almost every tool the young kitsune could ever need, and then some. The wall to wall workbench was littered with scrap metal, spare parts, and projects in various stages of completion. The back wall was filled completely by a large LCD screen, which Tails began to tap on, clearing away a few blueprints and other documents, including a webpage with a large picture of Eggman on it. The screen went dark as Tails asked me to stand in front of it.

"Hold your hand out please," He instructed, pressing on a few points on the screen. An image of me from above appeared on it. I looked up to see a camera above me had turned on. "Spin in a circle." I did as he asked, slowly turning in a circle, watching the screen. As I turned, the camera tracked where my ring was, tracing the path it took as I turned. The path would change colors depending on what color the ring was, giving us a sort of multicolored "circle" (it ended up as more of a squiggly oval) around my body. Tails tapped the screen again, and my image disappeared, replaced by a blue grid. A few more taps and the colored segments of the circle began to extend outward, like uneven sunrays.

"What's this?" Amy asked, pulling up a chair and sitting on it.

"Just because I can't track them doesn't mean I can't give us a general idea of where the Emeralds might be," Tails started to type furiously. We watched the image zoom out, and a map of what I assumed to be where we were was laid over it. The map was overlaid with the seven colored "wedges" sprouting across it, like... like a really drunk sun. It was a bit confusing to look at, but I think I understood...

"So, this," I started, pointing to the red wedge, "Is from here to here?" I held my ring out so it was red, and waved it back and forth, stopping when the ring changed and going in the other direction. Tails nodded.

"Your ring is giving you a range, and if we're right, the Chaos Emerald should be somewhere in there. So if we put that on a map, we can get a better idea of where you're going and what you might be up against..." Tails trailed off, studying the map intently. Sonic walked up to the window, staring at it before pointing to the light blue wedge.

"Most of that's in the tundra," Sonic said. "We'll have to dress warm..."

"They're all over the place..." Amy replied, her eyes darting around the map. "The beach, the mountains..." She looked over at me. "We better make sure you're packed for any occasion."

"You guys probably won't be able to pack heavy..." Tails interjected. "You won't be taking the Tornado." Sonic and Amy looked like they were ready to argue with him until they both realized something at the same time.

"...Because it's too easy to track," Sonic closed his eyes, sighing. "It's the first thing Eggman would be looking for."

"Wait, are we going to have to walk...?" I asked. "T...that'll take forever, we don't have time...!"

"Hold on, don't panic!" Tails held up his hands, hurrying over to his workbench and picking up a pair of black shoes with blue accents running down the sides, like racing stripes. He walked over to me and handed me the shoes. "Put these on," I examined the shoes for a moment... they were a little heavy, and they looked like shoes Sonic might wear: Big, shiny, and a bit eccentric. I removed my old shoes, slipping them on. To Tails' credit, they were comfortable. He bent down and pressed something on the back of each shoe, which made the blue stripes light up. "Alright, everyone outside."

We filed out, the hills around us getting dimmer as the sun started to set. Tails pulled me and Sonic a good distance from the buildings before holding his hands up. "Okay, hold on..." Tails ran back inside his workshop for a few minutes before coming out with a pair of white gloves, each with three blue mavericks on the back of them, the same color blue as my shoes. He pressed something on the gloves, and the mavericks lit up. He handed them to Sonic, who, after giving Tails a strange look, replaced his old gloves with the new ones.

"Ok, now, Sonic, grab Josh's hand," Tails instructed. I couldn't help but blush just a bit, even more so as I felt Sonic's large hand gently take mine... his glove was remarkably soft. Sonic, on the other hand, didn't even seem to give the hand holding a second thought... and I was really hoping he didn't see how red my face was getting. It's was a little embarrassing I guess? I don't know. "Now... run," Tails stood back, motioning for us to surge past him. Sonic and I looked at each other for a moment, before Sonic shrugged, and the two of us started to run forward at a decent pace... well, decent for me anyway. Tails shook his head. "Sonic, go fast," He instructed again.

"Are you sure buddy?" Sonic looked back at Tails, who nodded eagerly. He looked down at me again and sighed before adjusted his grip on my hand. "Hang on tight, ok?" He said, giving my hand a small shake. I nodded, squeezing his hand back best I could. Sonic looked forward and slowly began to pick up his pace...

And somehow...

I was able to keep up! I looked down at my feet and found that it didn't look like I was running any faster than I normally was... but Sonic's feet were a blur. I didn't feel like I was being pulled by him necessarily either, it just felt like I was running. Sonic looked equally amazed, staring down at his feet, my hands, and forward, before staring at me for a while. We both made eye contact, trying to figure out what to do or think, before a wide grin crossed Sonic's face. He whooped before taking off even faster, this time needing to pull me a bit as he took off around the hills.

We only went for a quick, experimental run, arriving back at the hangar a few minutes later. It was... how do I even describe it? It was exhilarating, it was heart-pounding, it... it was so freeing... I wanted to do it again.

"That's amazing Tails!" Sonic exclaimed, letting go of my hand to look at the gloves.

"Are those like Shadow's shoes?" Amy asked.

"Not exactly. A, rocket shoes will take a while for Josh to master... running that fast can be dangerous for people who aren't used to us. And B, I... was trying to make something like them, but accidentally made these instead. I thought I could use the gloves to register how fast you wanted to go, depending on where they were positioned, and have the shoes propel you at that speed. I modeled the positions off of Sonic and how he runs, but by doing that, I kinda accidentally made the gloves only respond accurately to Sonic... but, as we were talking in there, I realized that, hey, maybe the person wearing the gloves didn't have to wear the shoes... turns out I was right!"

"They're amazing...!" I gasped, watching the shoes' lights go dim. "That... I mean... wow..."

Sonic looked pretty proud of Tails, watching me with no small amount of amusement. "So, how do we turn them back on?"

"They should automatically turn on whenever you make contact with each other," Tails explained, waving everyone back into the hangar/workshop. "Just don't run as fast as you can with him yet. I haven't tested them at full speed, but... I mean, you saw, you can get going pretty fast."

"No Sonic Booms, got it," Sonic nodded, sitting down and admiring the new gloves. I took a seat as well, staring up at the map.

"As for all the different climates, I have something you can take with you that should help," Tails told me, pointing to... something on the workbench. "I'll finish it up tonight and have it ready for you in the morning."

"Thanks, Tails..." I looked up at him gratefully. "It means a lot, really..."

"No problem," He smiled. "Besides, I'm kinda using you as a guinea pig, so..."

"But this stuff will work, right?" Amy asked, glaring at the kitsune.

"Sure. Probably."

"Tails..."

"So, when do you want to head out Josh?" Sonic asked. I thought for a moment before looking at Tails.

"That thing you're finishing up... you'll really have it done tomorrow?" I asked Tails, who nodded confidently. "...alright... then we leave just as soon as you're done. As soon as possible."


	13. The Adventure Begins

...

...

...

"Hello?"

"Yes, we need you to come to the hospital right away."

* * *

I sat on the bed, hugging my knees, staring out the window at the night sky. It must have been a full moon tonight... Green Hill Zone (and yes, that's actually what it's called), was bathed in a pale, white glow... it was beautiful. I wiped my eyes on the sleeves of some blue, silk pajamas, on loan from Claudio. Truth be told, I wouldn't be surprised if these were just from Claudio's own collection... they smelled just a bit like the cologne that the raccoon wore. Oddly enough, it was nice... it felt like I was at a sleepover, and someone loaned me a pair of PJs, and not that I was on some alien planet, about to embark on some quest for 7 mystical stones that would slingshot me who knows how far to get to my home planet.

I took another deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. I was so nervous and excited, I almost couldn't fall asleep. I mean... yes, I was terrified of what was to come, but... after putting some deep thought into it, I couldn't deny, a part of me was thrilled. I was going to go on an adventure with Sonic the Hedgehog! I was going to see new places that I might never get the chance to see again. I thought back to my time here, realizing that I'd honestly been pretty down... and I wouldn't be surprised if I was annoying everyone. I resolved to be more positive about what was going on, just like at home. Bad things happen, you can either let it hurt you, or you can keep pushing forward.

I stood up, walking to the window to get a better look out. Where I lived, you never got to see anything like this, no rolling plains or lush, green grass... I wished I had a camera. As I looked around, I caught sight of a soft light coming from Tails' hangar... was he still awake? I watched for a bit more, trying to catch any sign of movement, before getting dressed and slipping out of the bedroom, heading out into the crisp night air. I could hear the whirring of power tools as I walked into the warmly lit space. Tails had on a pair of goggles and was hunched over his workbench, doing something to a small device. I cleared my throat politely and knocked on the bench.

"Sorry, am I intruding...?" I asked apologetically as he looked up at me.

"Not at all!" He motioned to one of the chairs as he bent over his project again. "I'm almost done actually, I didn't need to do as much as I thought. What are you doing up, isn't it like... 2 in the morning?"

"2:30," I corrected, sitting in one of the chairs. "I just can't sleep. I mean, I've never gone on an... an adventure before!" I laughed a bit.

"Are you nervous?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, but... I'm also pretty excited now," I smiled. "Daring adventure, brand new world to explore... I'll never get another chance to do... anything like this! Not to mention getting to meet people you've kinda grown up knowing..."

"What do you think of us so far?" Tails asked, turning to give me his full attention now. He removed his goggles. "Are we anything like the video games?"

"I guess it depends..." I thought for a moment. "I really only played the earlier games, but then my brother got older and wanted to play more, and most of the games are only single player, so... I just let him take over." I pursed my lips, thinking again. "...you're pretty much like how you are in the games... so is Amy... Knuckles is actually pretty gruff and tough in the games I've played, he's much nicer in real life."

"And what about Sonic?" Tails asked, grabbing a chair and sitting down.

"Sonic... is... kind of a mystery to me..." I spoke slowly, analyzing everything I had seen Sonic do while I was here. "In the games, he's sort of a free-spirit. He's pretty happy-go-lucky and just cocky enough that he seems super confident without being full of himself... He never stays in one place too long, and he always tries to do the right thing, especially where friends are concerned."

"Sounds like Sonic to me," Tails reached over to a small table on wheels, grabbing a mug and taking a drink of whatever was inside. "What's so mysterious about it?"

"...I don't know..." I replied, thinking back to just a few times... times where he had patted me or sounded concerned for me... which ok, maybe it wasn’t too out of character... but there was something else. Those... looks... "...he keeps... looking at me funny..."

"Funny?" Tails sat up a bit more. "Like what?"

"I... I don't really know..." I shook my head. "It's like..." I paused. "...like he was sad... like he saw me, and it made him sad..."

"Sad...?" Tails mused, squinting and looking down, obviously deep in thought.

"Yeah. He was staring at me like that on the way here from the hospital, during the first night, a couple other times…” I frowned. “Tails, did Sonic ever mention that he didn't... I don't know, he didn't like me, or he didn't trust me or something?" I asked, feeling a bit of worry settle in my gut. Tails quickly shook his head.

"No, not at all! You're a cool dude Josh!" Tails smiled reassuringly before looking down again. "I can't think of any reason why Sonic would..." Tails drifted off mid-sentence, muttering something to himself for a moment. He raised his head, looking me up and down. "...Josh... did you... um..." He stopped talking again, scratching his head, before huffing, and looking up at me apologetically. "I think he's just worried about you." His smile dropped. "...If you ever need someone to talk to... he's always willing to listen, ok?"

"Oh... o-okay, sure."

"And... you can talk about anything with him, ok? Literally anything, he really won't mind."

"...a-alright…?"

"...sorry..." Tails chuckled sheepishly, realizing how serious he had gotten, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I'm just worried about you too. We were just so freaked out about you and you "

"Ah, yeah..." It was my turn to be a bit embarrassed. "I'm normally not like that,"

_ That's a lie _

"But, I guess I just kinda felt like a fish out of water." I leaned back in the chair. "Today's better though. Now that I'm more used to... everything." I smiled and moved a bit closer to Tails. "So... can you show me what you were working on...?" Tails grinned, his tails wagging behind him. He jumped up, grabbing my wrist and eagerly pulling me to his workbench. He plucked up a set of pins, dropping each in his hand, before handing them all to me.

"...these look amazing...!" I exclaimed, picking one up and staring at it. It looked like a snowflake with a thick, black border.

"Put it on!" Tails insisted, rocking a bit on his toes. I watched him almost mentally urge me to test out his latest invention before I finally decided to give him what he wanted. I undid the small clasp on the back and pushed the pin through my outer shirt. I felt a sudden blast of wind from beneath me, ruffling my clothes and making my hair whip around a bit. I shut my eyes, raising my arms up to cover my face. But when it was done, I noticed that I was wearing slightly different clothing... which was SO COOL. The outer shirt had changed, turning completely white, and extending out into a warm hoodie, the inner shirt turning black, aside from the bronze design on it. My jeans had turned almost black as well, just a bit brighter than the shirt. The only thing that remained the same were my shoes.

"Woah..." I laughed a bit, holding out my arms to check out my new jacket. "The pin did this??"

"Yup! It changes the fabric structure, and can even sew additional material onto the existing one," He took off the pin, reverting me to my normal clothes. "Just don't tell Claudio. He doesn't like it when I mess with clothes." He attached another pin to me, this one a picture of the sun. Another burst of air, and my outer shirt had totally disappeared, my inner turning into a light blue tank top, and my jeans turning into a pair of khaki cargo shorts. "You'll be prepared, no matter what kind of situation you run into." Tails removed the pin and placed it in my hand as my clothes changed back to normal.

"...Tails, I don't know what to say," I said quietly, staring at the pins before looking up at Tails again. "Thank you..." Tails shrugged modestly.

"It's what I do," He replied. "I just hope they'll be useful to you."

I nodded, smiling a bit wider, before chuckling a bit. "U-Um... can I... like... hug you?" Tails just laughed before opening his arms. I squealed quietly and hurried over to him, throwing my arms around him. He did the same, squeezing me tightly... oh my gosh he was so soft... I almost forgot to let go. I stepped back. "Sorry..."

"For what? I like hugs!" Tails laughed again. "Nothing to be sorry for!"

I laughed with him a bit as we both sat back down. And then we just talked. And just kept talking. Talked about what we liked, what we didn't like. We made jokes. We told stories. I listened to him talk about science, and his latest projects. He listened to me talk about my love for singing and my favorite music. I don't think either of us even noticed the sun come up. By the time Sonic came looking for us, Tails didn't feel like someone I had been watching through a television screen for most of my life. He felt like someone I hadn’t seen in such a long time, and we just had to catch up… he felt like a friend.

"Looks like you two are getting along," Sonic said as he walked in. Tails nodded enthusiastically, I pretty much mirroring him. Sonic laughed a bit before looking over at me. "Ready to go?" I felt my heart sink a bit.

"Oh... is it that time already?" I asked, looking over at Tails sadly. His ears drooped as he looked back at me, before standing, hurrying over to his bench again, and picking up a glass phone.

"Message me as soon as you get settled somewhere," He said, demonstrating how to unlock the phone and get to messages. "And tell your brother hi for me when you find him."

I stood up as well, feeling like I was going to cry. I quickly hugged Tails again. "I promise I'll come to say goodbye before I go." Tails nodded, holding onto me tightly. We just held each other for a while... I finally chuckled quietly, pulling away and wiping my eyes a bit. "Does this mean we're friends?" I joked, which brought a smile to Tails' face as he laughed.

"I guess so," He wiped his eyes as well, before looking back at me. "...good luck Josh."

"...thank you..." I nodded, before looking over at Sonic. For just the briefest moment, I swore I saw that look on Sonic's face again... but it was gone once again, his normal expression back in place. I know I wasn't imagining it... I don't think...

"Ready?" He asked, motioning outside. I nodded, walking towards him and back out into the sun, Tails following behind him. Amy was standing outside, alongside Knuckles, who was stretching out. The echidna noticed me coming out, smiling at me before going back to his stretches. Amy perked up and hurried over to me.

"Just wanted to say good luck," She said, taking my hand and shaking it a bit. I smiled up at her before hugging her as well. She was a bit surprised, but quickly hugged me back, folding her arms around me.

"Thank you, Amy... for everything..." I said quietly, giving her a squeeze before letting go. She smiled and nodded to me, stepping back and going over to Tails. I looked over at waved at the two, before walking over to where Sonic and Knuckles were. Sonic looked down at me, extending his hand.

"Don't let me go," I joked, slipping my hand into his.

"No promises," Sonic smirked.

* * *

Eggman drummed his fingers on the arm of the captain's chair of his small aircraft, the "Egg Pod." And he wasn't happy. His jaw was clenched, his face was a bit red... And it wasn’t just because he had an oblivious yellow robot chattering away in his ear, jostling him every now and then. No. He was angry because his plan had backfired more spectacularly than even he could have imagined. He didn't just lose the Chaos Emeralds. He lost the Emeralds without a way to find them again. Not easily anyway.

After that _ boy _ ruined his plans, and after he spent the majority of the day pouting and swearing revenge on a new enemy, he discovered that only the console for his new machine had exploded in the wake of Chaos Blast... the rest of it was still largely intact. His plan could still proceed, he just needed to rebuild the console, and find the Emeralds again! It would be easy, he already had a few of his Pawns working on it. He thought finding the Emeralds would be simple too, just a matter of scanning again.

What he hadn't counted on were the supercharged Emeralds putting out such a strong energy signature that he couldn't track them with any efficacy. Even after he finally got his scanner to accept such powerful signals without crashing, the energy signature each Emerald put out was massive. And it wasn’t like an Emerald was just in the middle of whatever energy field... he tried that. But when he arrived, nothing was there except for a bunch of trees. So, he had to resort to using an a… less exact method. Basically, a machine that would play hot or cold with you. The closer you actually got to an Emerald, the faster it would beep.

It hadn't changed for the past four hours.

Eggman wasn't happy.

"...so then I was like, 'There's no way you can do that!' And he was like 'Oh yeah?' And I was like 'Oh yeah!' So he took the cucumber and-"

"Cubot, one more word out of you and I'll-"

"Boss, look!" Orbot jumped up from his place lying on the control panel, pointing down to the ground below. Eggman looked down to see Sonic, that red guy he hangs around, and... the _ boy _ running across a bridge, sprinting into a forest. Eggman growled, starting to pitch the Eggcraft forward, ready to blow the trio to smithereens. "Wait, Boss!" Orbot waved his hands.

"What Orbot, can't you see I'm busy taking my revenge?!" Eggman growled, whipping around to look at the red, round bot.

"But Boss, why would they be running around out here unless they knew where they were going?" Orbot held up a finger. "If we followed them, we might find the Chaos Emeralds in the process!"

"Hmm..." Eggman twirled his mustache around his finger for a moment. "We could..." He crossed his arms and sunk down in his seat. "But I want revenge noooooow..."

"Well, if you see what they know, not only can you beat them to the Emeralds so you can take over the world, but then you can destroy them that much easier!" Orbot held his hands behind his back, looking like a proud little kid. Eggman hummed a bit before leaning forward, slowly moving the Egg Pod forward, just enough so that he could still make out his enemies without them seeing him.

"...well... I guess it couldn't hurt..." He grumbled, before sitting up, shutting off his radar. "Alright, we'll follow them." He concluded, flipping a few switches and starting to get the vehicle into motion... but stopped. "...wait..."

"What's the matter, Boss?"

"They'll see me," Eggman grumbled, sitting back again. "They'd try to throw me off the trail," Eggman growled. He quietly brooded for a moment, trying to think of a solution, before a wicked grin crossed his face. "...so we'll bribe someone to keep an eye on them," He quickly started typing something into the control panel in front of him, before a screen popped up in front of him. There was a quiet ringing before someone picked up.

"I told you never to delete my number."

"But you picked up!" Eggman chuckled. The person on the screen huffed a bit.

"What do you want?"

"I have an offer for you-"

"I don't care."

"That involves taking out Sonic the Hedgehog."

"...I'm listening."

Eggman sneered. "Excellent. Come over, and I'll explain everything."

"This better not be a waste of my time."

"Trust me... it won't be."

The figure hung up.

"But Boss, I thought you wanted to take out Sonic..." Orbot seemed a bit unnerved after seeing who his boss wanted to bring here.

"And I will. But we need eyes on the ground, someone who can blend in without anyone seeing him." Eggman pressed the tips of his fingers together. "When the time is right... I'll take my revenge."

* * *

"Sonic!!" I did my best to cry out over the wind rushing past us. "Can we stop?!"

Sonic nodded, heading over to Knuckles and tapping his shoulder. I felt us slow down until we were back at walking speed. We found that, while we could run for quite a while, I was the weak link of the three of us. I already wasn’t in the best shape, and then having to run/skate alongside Sonic… it was surprisingly taxing. I didn't have inexhaustible stamina as Sonic and Knuckles did, though I certainly liked to think I did. In fact, the first time we stopped, it was actually because Sonic noticed I had no color in my face and I looked like I was about to throw up. He made me tell him whenever I got to the point where I felt like I couldn't hold a light conversation after that. And he'd check. Often.

"Doing ok?" He asked as we walked through the forest. I nodded, taking a deep breath like how Sonic taught me during our first pit stop. "We still on course?"

I held up my hand, my ring turning red again. I nodded. "Yup."

"Alright..." Sonic nodded, squinting ahead a bit. "...looks like we're getting close to something... When we get going again, wanna make that your next goal?" That was our system. We set goals. Sonic would look ahead and either point out a landmark or name one that he knew was ahead. Then, when Sonic saw that I was ready, we'd run to the goal, and if I could keep going, great, if not, we walk for a bit to take a break. We never really stopped, there was always some forward movement. I felt bad for stopping at first though, apologizing every time we had to until Knuckles "snapped" at me.

"Yeah, you better be sorry you're taking care of your body!" He "yelled" at me, giving me an over exaggerated glare. He cracked a smile after a moment before stretching. "Seriously, don't apologize for this. It's better to take these small breaks now than it is to run until you're exhausted. We don’t want to have to take you back to the hospital."

I hadn't thought of that. I stopped apologizing afterward. And I made sure we took regular breaks.

"Alright, my turn..." Sonic mused, putting a finger to his chin. The second time we stopped, I thought it would be fun to ask one of those "ice breaker" questions. You know, like, "If you were stuck on a deserted island, and you could only have one personal belonging, what would it be?" (That was my first question. Sonic said his guitar, Knuckles said the Master Emerald.) The guys thought it was kinda fun, and Knuckles wanted to give it a shot next time we took a break. So, we decided that every pit stop, as we walked, we’d get to know each other a little bit better.

Sonic’s guilty pleasure is listening to a German girl band called “The LaLas.” His biggest regret is not going to college. Knuckles has never kissed a girl before, not on purpose anyway. If he weren’t guarding the Master Emerald, he would love to go on a wine tasting tour across the globe. I revealed that I sing female power ballads when I’m in the shower. Tomatoes make me feel sick. So far, we’d mostly been talking about pretty surface level stuff, nothing too crazy.

“Got one,” Sonic smiled, looking at the two of us. “You just found out you have an hour to live, what do you do?”

Well, surface level until now.

“Woah, where did that come from?” Knuckles asked, looking a bit surprised. Sonic shrugged a bit.

“It’s great that we’re talking about our hobbies and interests, but if we wanna get to know each other, we gotta dig down to the important stuff, right?” He asked, scratching his ear.

“That’s tough though… would money be a problem?” Knuckles asked. “I mean, there’s a lot I’d like to do, but if I’ve only got an hour…”

“Money isn’t a problem, and I’ll add that you could go anywhere in the world in no time at all thanks to yours truly.” Sonic folded his arms, looking more and more proud of his question.

“Oh, easy then, go eat a fancy meal at one of my dream vineyards,” Knuckles nodded, satisfied.

“Oh gee, thanks for inviting your friends,” Sonic deadpanned, almost looking offended. Almost.

“What? I don’t want to spend my last hour talking and being cried over! I’d rather be alone, so I can enjoy my meal and reflect on my life,” He replied. “If I had some warning, I’d be with you guys the day before, but I just would rather spend my last few minutes by myself.” Sonic seemed a bit taken aback by how deep Knuckles’ answer actually was… He nodded and turned to look at me.

“...well…” I had to think for a little while… one hour huh…? “I’d probably… talk with my little brother. Tell him how much I love him, and that I’ll do everything I can to keep watching over him…” I shuffled my feet a bit. “Just to make sure he didn’t feel like he was all alone.”

“Man… you’re a good big brother, you know that?” Knuckles said, shaking his head as if he were in disbelief. “Your parents must be proud.”

“Yup…” I replied.

_ They sure were. _

“...well, you ready to keep going?” Sonic asked, giving my hand a squeeze. ...funny, I totally forgot we were still holding hands. I nodded.

"So, what is that up ahead anyway?" I asked, pointing forward.

"That's the next city we can stop in to rest," Sonic looked ahead, starting into a run already. "Casinopolis."

We dashed toward our next goal. As we did, I happened to look up and catch a glimpse at Sonic. For the briefest moment, it seemed like he was giving me that funny look again… but, just like always, it was gone, as if he had never made eye contact with me before.

I just had to wonder… what was he thinking…?


	14. Bright Lights, Big City

It was amazing how quickly the climate could change on Mobius. One second, you could be running across more grassy hills and lush forests... then boom. Desert as far as the eye could see. The sun beat down on us, made that much worse by the sand radiating the heat back up at us. The first moment I could, I put on Tails' "tank top" pin. 

"We almost there?" I asked, wiping the sweat from my forehead. Sonic and Knuckles, oddly enough, seemed totally unphased by the heat. He even seemed to enjoy it a bit!

"Yup, it's right up there. See it?" Sonic crouched a bit so we were eye level and pointed out into the distance. A black dot rested on the horizon, the intense heat making it look like a wavy mirage.

"...That's Casinopolis?" I asked, looking skeptically at Sonic. "It looked more... colorful in the games..."

"You'll see," Sonic patted me on the back and held out a hand again. "Ready?" I took his hand and nodded, starting into a slight run before he did. We discovered it was a bit easier to get up to speed if I started off, Sonic didn't have to wait to speed up as long as he normally did. The wind helped cool us off as we accelerated towards our destination, the black dot slowly getting bigger and bigger…

The "dot" was actually a city sized dome, made of some kind of smooth, black rock. And I do mean it was city sized. Miles upon miles high and wide... it was incredible! Sonic slowed to a stop about a mile out, noticing that I was trying to take in the view. He smiled, putting a hand on his hip.

"Wait so... is everything in there?" I asked, looking back up at him. He laughed softly at my amazed expression.

"Yup. You know how most casinos don't have clocks or windows in them so you don't know how long you've been in there?" He motioned towards the dome. "Same deal, just on a massive scale."

"You ever gamble before?" Knuckles asked. I shook my head.

"I'm not old enough to go into the casinos on Earth," I said.

"Well, want an old pro to teach you?" Knuckles smirked, obviously a bit proud of himself, until Sonic scoffed a bit.

"Old pro? Last time you were here, you didn't have enough rings to afford a ride home, and too drunk to walk," Sonic shook his head. "Don't waste your time in there Josh. There's plenty of other things to see. Besides, we're looking for the Chaos Emeralds, remember?" Sonic looked pointedly at Knuckles, who just crossed his arms and huffed.

"You're just sour because you lose all the time."

"Everyone loses all the time, that's the point."

"I don't lose."

Sonic rolled his eyes before looking down at me. "C'mon, let's get you out of the sun, you're starting to burn,"

"Please," I nodded, already seeing my arms starting to turn a tell-tale shade of pink... We started to run again, but had only gone a few seconds before I suddenly lurched forward. I let go of Sonic's hand, stumbling to a halt as the other two skidded to a stop ahead of me.

"Did you trip?" Sonic asked as he began to walk towards me.

"I'm not doing this!" I yelped back as I took a few more lurching steps forward. It felt like something was forcefully pulling me, and as much as I tried to fight back, whatever was doing it was pretty much in control. My hand was forcefully yanked up, the ring pointing towards the air above the dome, as it began to glow a bright red. We all started as the glow got brighter and brighter, before a blast of light shot out of it, like a missile, the force of which sent me falling onto my rear. The light missile sailed upward, until it stopped right above the dome, and burst, a wall of light radiating out from it and falling around the dome. The light slowly dissipated, until all was quiet again. Sonic, Knuckles, and I didn't say a word for a moment, just staring at the dome, and where the light once was, before Sonic quickly ran over to me, helping me up.

"...what was that?" Knuckles asked, looking back at me and pointing up.

"I-I don't know, I... I just..." I tried to find words, but everything had happened so quickly and suddenly, it was hard to fully process everything.

"Are you ok...?" Sonic asked worriedly. I nodded, looking up at him.

"...it was like... something was making me do that," I said, holding up the ring. "It was like someone was pulling-"

"Josh..." Sonic wasn't staring at me anymore, but at my hand. I looked down at my ring, immediately noticing what he did.

The ring wasn't made of glass anymore. Not as far as I could tell. It looked like it was made of red emerald, the sides smooth and blocky rather than rounded like it was before. Inscribed in the top was a bunch of characters that looked like what were on the temple of the Master Emerald.

"...Knuckles...!" I hurried over to the echidna, showing him my ring. "Can you read this?" After taking a moment to just stare at my new accessory, and a moment more to examine the words, he shook his head.

"...it's a name, but... that's all I can tell you..." Knuckles replied, looking back up at the dome.

"So... what... what does all this mean?" I asked, looking between the two. They both shrugged as Sonic walked over to me.

"Whatever it is... looks like we might be staying here a bit longer than I thought..." Sonic stood next to me, sighing. "...stick close to me in there, ok?"

* * *

Casinopolis was a city of never ending nightlife. All the buildings were covered in twinkling lights and neon tubes that blasted color out onto the streets 24/7. The city was teeming with people, all of them in various levels of dress (or in some cases, undress), as they streamed in and out of casino after casino. You were constantly being jostled this way or that by someone or another. It was the total opposite of the city Amy took me to. That city was simple, clean, almost peaceful. This... this was neon colored madness...

Sonic slowly uncovered my eyes after making sure the flasher that jumped in front of us to show us his  _ business _ had left. Ever since someone had tried to grab me away in order to "pet the fleshy," Sonic kept me right in front of him, a hand on each of my shoulders at all times. He guided me through the crowd, finally pulling me down a practically empty side street, devoid of the brightly colored lights. The owners of the buildings put a lot of into the fronts of their casinos, but the sides or the "hidden" areas of the building were much less showy. Graffiti and posters, some new, some faded, and some torn apart, littered the walls. Dumpsters and bags of garbage hung off to the sides. An employee was leaning on a wall, smoking a cigarette, staring at his phone, paying us no mind.

"You doing ok?" Sonic asked, moving in front of me. I nodded.

"It's a little intense..." I mumbled. Trying to walk through the streets was a bit like trying to swim up a really powerful stream. Not to mention, everyone seemed to be at least as tall as me, if not taller.

"Well, let's just sit down for a second," Sonic nodded to a wall, walking over and sliding down it, landing on the ground with a soft thump. I did the same, landing next to him. I saw him close his eyes and lean his head back against the wall, taking deep breaths. 

"Sonic...?" I asked quietly. He cracked an eye open. "...You ok?" He gave me a small smile and closed his eye again.

"Yeah... this place is just... taking it out of me..." He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "Nowhere to run here, you know? Makes me feel... I don't know, cooped up."

"Are you claustrophobic?" I asked, leaning forward as well. Sonic shook his head.

"No... don't think so anyway," He replied. "I'm not like... scared or super nervous or anything... but it's really hard for me to feel like I couldn't start to run in case there was danger. It's just like... I'm always on high alert."

Because of Eggman?"

"Him. And anyone else that might hurt you," He stood up and stretched, groaning a bit.

Hurt me? Me specifically?

"...I didn't know you were so worried about me," I said quietly, standing as well. He looked over at me as he raised his arms over his head.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sonic asked.

"...you don't know me that well..." I shrugged. "I'm... some random guy you rescued."

"Seems reason enough to me," Sonic looked up into the air, up one of the walls.

"But I mean like..." I struggled to explain what was in my head. "...you're... like... being really nice."

"Do you want me to be mean?" Sonic chuckled, looking over at me with an eyebrow raised and an amused smile. "Friends are supposed to be nice to each other."

"N-No, I know that, it’s… it’s like…" I sighed, grasping at the words I needed. "People don't usually... go this far for random strangers..." Sonic paused for a moment mid-stretch before lowering his arms, leaning over to touch his toes.

"I don't think you're a random stranger," He said casually, switching to a different stretch. He shook out his limbs for a moment before turning to me. "You're a friend I just met," He smiled and held out his hand. "Right?"

I stared at his extended hand for a moment before taking it. "...Right." Sonic grinned wider, showing me his teeth, before looking back up into the sky again.

"Hang on tight, ok?" He instructed, pulling me forward to start a run. Before I could even question what was going on, he shot forward, quickly planting a foot on the wall in front of us... and running right up it.

I may have screamed, I don't remember. We were going very high, very fast, and the only thing below me was the ground, getting further and further away. Gravity tugged at my back, which was... terrifying to say the least. Sonic was immediately apologetic when we somehow got to the roof of whatever casino we scaled, putting a hand on my back and leaning down to meet my eye.

"Sorry... probably should have warned you huh?" He said. I nodded, taking a deep breath to try to calm the jackhammer in my chest. I half expected Sonic to be at least trying to hold in a laugh, but he looked... genuinely worried.

"I-I'm ok Sonic... r-really," I did my best to reassure him, standing up straighter. "You just surprised me, that's all..." I smiled shakily, which did very little to calm Sonic's nerves. "I just... need a minute..." He nodded, taking a step back and stretching out again. "Why'd you bring me up here anyway...?"

"Well..." He gently took my hand again, walking me forward. "I figured we could avoid most of the crowd by walking up here," He stopped a few feet from the ledge of the building. "Not to mention... this view is amazing,"

It was.

The neon lights that were so bright and garish from the ground were beautiful from up above. They almost seemed to dance in the air itself, the colors flashing and swirling around between the casinos lined down the street. And if I squinted, I could maybe see a reason why...

"Is there... smoke in the air?" I asked, pointing down. Sonic nodded.

"They have fog machines at street level that go off every now and then. It makes the lights pop that much more. They do stuff like that for concerts too,” he explained as he pulled me away from the sight a bit. We started to walk along the roof, taking looks over the edge every now and then, Sonic pointing out some of the cooler landmarks, different shows, fountains... this place was like Las Vegas if Las Vegas was designed by Walt Disney; It was colorful, high energy, and even just a bit nonsensical at times with its architecture. Everything was made big and grand for no other reason than just to be big and grand.

I loved it. At least... I loved it from a distance. I don't know, something about being above all the craziness and chaos below made me feel... I don't know, removed from it all, like I was somewhere different, somewhere safe. Which was odd, feeling safe in what was essentially Las Vegas 2.0 but... I don't know... something just felt good about where I was...

I felt Sonic jump a bit and reach behind him, pulling out his glass phone and swiping at it with his other hand. "Wondered how long it would take him to notice we're gone..." He muttered, typing in a reply to someone I assumed to be Knuckles. "If he asks, just say the crowd pulled us away from him."

"Got it," I said, nodding distractedly as I watched a large fountain show for a moment. My gaze wandered across the city tops, until I came across an... odd shape. One that wasn't flat. "...Sonic, what's that?" He followed my gaze, and smiled before looking back at me.

"Probably the one place here I can stand," He replied, gripping my hand tighter. "C'mon, you'll love it!" I grinned, feeling giddy, ready to start running... but stopped short as I caught a glimpse of my other hand, and the ring on it. I felt a bit of guilt well up in me... was I really about to just go sightseeing, while Jacob was still out there doing... who knows what at this point.

"...Sorry..." I slipped my hand out of Sonic's. "...maybe another time... right now though, I just... I want to focus on finding the Emerald while we're here..."

"Oh..." He rubbed the back of his head. "Right... sorry, I... kinda got carried away..." He laughed half-heartedly. "Crazy what this place does to you..." An odd silence fell between us for a few moments before he broke it. "So... what does your ring say?" I held it up and waved it around.

"...it's not really changing..." I squinted at it, holding it closer to my face. "Wait... it's..." Sonic walked closer, squinting as well as he drew close.

"...it's losing its color," He said, tilting his head. "It's like it's draining out the bottom or something..." I quickly felt along the bottom of the ring... all dry, no holes, nothing red smudging on my finger. It was so weird, the ring by this point was mostly clear, the bottom third of it still clinging to that bright red color.

"...does that mean we're doing something right?" I asked, trying to shake it to see if the color would move at all... it didn't. "I mean, that light show outside, that was saying the Emerald was in the dome, right?"

"That's what I thought..." Sonic mused, standing up and tapping his chin a bit. "Does it refill if you walk the other way?" We experimented for a few minutes, walking in all directions... nothing seemed to happen, aside from the ring's color draining more.

"...Do you think it's a timer?" I asked.

"A timer to what? Counting down to when we find the Emerald?"

"...or a timer for when the Emerald would disappear," I looked up at Sonic, feeling panic rise up in me. "Like the yellow Emerald back on Angel Island." I paced along the roof, my heart picking up speed as fear began to gnaw at me. “That’ll just take us longer, Eggman could get ahold of them, w-we’d be chasing down just another Emerald and-”

“Hey, hey, hey, hey!” Sonic grabbed my wrist… I’d started to reach up and pull my hair without realizing. “Breathe Josh, breathe!” I stared up at him, into his eyes… Still a deep Emerald, still glowing just a bit… “There you go… easy…”  Wow… I… Wow…

“How’d you do that?” I asked.

“Do what?” He slowly released my hand, as I let them drop to my sides.

“...I…” I tried to figure it out. One moment I felt like the world was falling around me… the next…

“You ok?” He gave my shoulder a small shake. “We still got time, ok? Let’s just… follow our hunches.”

“...hunches?” I laughed a bit, in spite of myself. “Is that how you usually do things? You follow a hunch…?”

“All the time,” he winked at me and clicked his tongue before holding out a hand again. “C’mon, I got a few friends here that we can call on, and I can guarantee you, they’re gonna be… right over there.” He pointed over to the strange shape he was wanting to go to. A gigantic circus tent…

“...wait, are there gonna be clowns?”


	15. Greatest Casino on Earth

The Carnival Nights Casino was heavily themed as a circus. What I mistook for a circus tent was actually a gigantic casino in the shape of a tent, big enough to hold five floors of games, bars, and all you can eat buffets, as well as an impressively large amusement park. Think Circus Circus in Las Vegas, but even bigger and showier than that. Search lights wobbled and spun around the "tent," lighting up the night and casting bright circles on the roof of the Casinopolis dome. Sonic held open the entrance door and I felt a blast of cool air as I walked into the interior of the casino. The inside was less eccentric, and more what you'd expect from a fancy casino, carpeted floors, dim lights, staff dressed very sharply in red vests and white dress shirts... but that's not to say that there wasn't a carnival theme, it was just used in a tasteful way... mostly. I stared at a floor to ceiling painting of a clown juggling for a moment, shivers running down my spine, before catching back up with Sonic as he walked up to the front desk.

"So who are these friends of yours?" I asked, as Sonic quickly scanned a directory.

"Well... sorta friends..." Sonic said distractedly, before tapping a name on the list and giving a polite wave to the staff member at the front desk. "Have any of the games ever mentioned the Chaotix?"

"The name sounds familiar..." I said, "But I couldn't tell you anything about him. Or her. It?"

"_They _are actually a detective agency, their office is in the casino," Sonic explained, guiding me over to an elevator and pressing the button.

"A detective agency in a casino?" I asked, looking around. "...A circus themed casino?"

"I think it was Charmy's idea," Sonic said, chuckling a bit. He stared up at the floor indicator, tapping his foot somewhat impatiently as the number slowly counted down. "I think this is one of the only casinos that lets kids go up to the elevators. Vector has a soft spot for helping a sad kid."

"Aw, that's sweet!" I chuckled as the doors opened. We stepped in, and Sonic pressed the button for the thirteenth floor. "...not very superstitious, are you guys..."

"Superstitious about what?" Sonic asked as the doors closed. "The thirteenth floor? Nah. Some people believe that, but others don't. Not me anyway," He grinned down at me, snickering and nudging me. "You scared?"

"Who me?" I said. "I mean... not usually, but like... don't wanna take chances..."

"You're really nervous?" Sonic's voice lost all sense of teasing. I nodded. "Hey, like I said, it's gonna be ok. You're with me!" He thumped his chest. "You got nothing to worry about!" The doors opened. The floor was... actually pretty empty. Glass doors and brick walls everywhere, but not a business to fill them with. Even Sonic seemed pretty surprised. "...They said they got the place cheap... I guess people don't want to risk the bad luck either..."

"It's kinda creepy..." I said quietly, peering through a window into one of the many empty business shells. "It's like it's been abandoned or something..."

"...Welp, try not to think about it too much!" Sonic said cheerfully, walking forward and looking down the branching hallways for something, before snapping and pointing. "They're down here!" He called over to me, before hurrying down the hall.

"W-Wait, Sonic!" I hurried forward, running over to the hallway Sonic disappeared down. I took a quick look down the other way, just to satisfy my curiosity... and stopped, seeing something that made my heart skip a beat.

A warm, red glow. I felt my mouth go a bit dry as I looked back down the hall Sonic dashed down. "H-Hey, I-I think I found the Emerald!" I called out. No response. I turned back to the shimmering glow. No way it could be this easy... could it? I walked down the hallway slowly, tracing the glow to a slightly ajar door. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

It was a dim hotel room, mostly barren aside from a bed, a side table, a closet, and a large entertainment center devoid of anything entertaining. Dust floated in the reddish glow of the room, but I couldn't pinpoint any specific source the light was coming from. I searched every inch of the room (which wasn't hard) and found nothing... the place was empty... so the red glow was coming from...

I stared at the thick curtains on the other end of the room, leading out to what I assumed was a balcony. I quickly crossed the room and tore the curtains open, sliding open the glass door and stepping out onto the balcony...

I came face to face with a bright red light. From a lightbulb on the roof of a carousel. I watched the light start to circle away as calliope music began to play from below me. I watched a parade of white lights spin past me, interrupted by a red light every now and then. I felt myself deflate a bit as I leaned against the railing in front of me. I guess I should have known the Chaos Emerald probably wasn't just going to just be laying around somewhere... but it still hurt a bit...

I took a moment to examine the view before me. The theme park, as I said before, was surprisingly big, especially for an indoor one. The theme itself seemed to be "oversized," each ride a cartoonishly overdone version of itself. The carousel had 13 floors, the roller coaster was wide enough to fit at least 10 people to a row (it was moving too fast to get an accurate count), the launch tower extended out a hole in the roof... they seemed to be trying to pack as much fun as they could into the space. There was no need to... but they did. Everything was big, and I do mean everything; Food, games, even the bathrooms! Each thing was, in some way or another, bigger or grander. For a moment, I wanted to go down, to look around... but I had a mission. Play time would have to wait. I turned, going back into the room, shutting the sliding door and curtains behind me.

My heart pounded.

My palms began to sweat.

I swiftly turned, staring at the closed curtain again. I heard something... or someone... land on the balcony. I felt the blood drain from my face, and instinct took over any reasoning... I needed to hide. I scrambled into the closet, shutting the door and sitting in a corner, trying to make myself as small as possible.

Someone parted the curtains and stepped into the room. They walked quietly across the floor... and opened the closet.

Fu-

"You're not in trouble you know. You don't gotta hide." It was hard to make out the owner of the voice from where I was sitting with the bright light illuminating them from the back, but they were male. Younger than Sonic judging by the voice, almost sounding like he could be a senior in high school. He held a hand out to me. "C'mon, let's get you out of there." Cautiously, I took the stranger's hand and let him pull me up. I got a better look at him now, a black bat with two studs in one of his ears, a grey tank top, and skinny jeans. His eyes glowed a golden yellow in the slight darkness. He had an easy smile that took away a lot of my uneasiness. He took a sip from a coffee cup he was holding, taking a minute to take me in.

"Never seen something quite like you before..." He remarked. "You a monkey that shaved all your fur or something?"

"Er... n-no, I'm..." Was I going to have to explain this to everyone? I didn't have time for this... "I'm not from here..."

"Hm..." The bat looked me up and down one more time, taking another sip. "Well 'not-from-here,' why are you hiding in a dusty closet in an abandoned hotel room on the haunted thirteenth floor?"

Haunted? Zoinks...

"I... I was just... looking for something…" I replied quietly.

"And didja find it?" The bat asked, walking me to the door.

"...no..." I replied, feeling my heart sink a bit. I glanced down at my ring... the color was almost gone...

"Hm... well I'm sorry..." The bat closed the door behind us once we were both out of the room. In the light of the hall, I could make him out better. Nothing much new to report, He looked like a bat, black wings, grey, fingerless gloves, he had a bit of hair he spiked up in the front, slight fangs poking out of the corners of his mouth, decently muscular for his age, handsome... I think? I don't know how beauty or anything is gauged on Mobius, I'm really just guessing.

"...so what about you?" I asked. "Are you like... following me or something?"

"Following you?" The bat laughed. "What makes you say that?"

"Well I'm assuming you flew up from the theme park and entered in the room when you saw me there," I said.

"Well, you're not wrong," The bat scratched an ear, "But I'm not following _you _specifically, people have been coming up here a bunch recently. Something's printed wrong in the directory or something, so people get lost."

"Doesn't explain how you knew I was up here," I stopped, crossing my arms, "Unless you were already keeping an eye on me."

"An eye on the room!" The bat mirrored my actions, crossing his arms. "Ever since I saw someone come up here the first time, I've been keeping an eye on the rooms up on this floor to make sure no one else gets lost."

"And you just so happened to be in the park as I was in the room?"

"Well, yeah... I work there." The bat reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic card, marked "EMPLOYEE," with his picture on it, and underneath it, "Blitz the Bat."

"...That's your name?" I asked, pointing to the card. "Blitz?" He nodded.

"And what about you?" He asked. "Or do want me to keep calling you 'not-from-here?'"

Do I trust him? I mean... I felt Creeped out when he came in. But... I wasn't feeling Creeped anymore... Sometimes my Creepy Senses overreacted to people.

"Josh," I finally replied, holding out a hand. "Nice to meet you stalker."

"A pleasure Not-From-Here." Blitz game me a reassuring smirk before looking away. "And... um... sorry for the... interrogation." He replied quieter. "I've just been... um..." He paused, pressing his lips together for a bit.

"...stressed?" I suggested.

"Yeah, you could say that." Blitz nodded.

"It's ok... it didn't even seem like you were interrogating me, you seemed... pretty chill!" I shrugged. And it was true, he never really raised his voice or sounded angry. A bit cold, but nothing too cruel. He seemed like a really relaxed guy. Not quite laid back, just relaxed. "I was probably more rude about it than you were."

"Calling me a stalker was a little harsh, but I'll let it slide," Blitz smirked at me.

"I-I didn't say you were a stalker!" I said, now feeling guilty because, yeah, I kinda did call him a stalker. He didn't push the issue, opting to laugh it off with a quiet chuckle.

"So, really, what brings you up here, Josh?" Blitz asked, walking me back down the hall to the main corridor with the elevator.

"I'm here with a friend, we're going to talk to the... um... chaotic detectives?" I knew that wasn't the right name... but I couldn't remember, for the life of me, what the actual name was.

"There are detectives up here?" Blitz asked, looking around. I pointed down the hall Sonic went down.

"My friend said they're that way, but I kinda got... distracted," I said, motioning to the hotel room.

"Is your friend with the detectives now?" Blitz asked, walking down the hall a bit.

"I'd imagine so...!" I said, catching up with him.

"Let's go find him then," Blitz nodded, hurrying forward. "What's your friend's name by the way?"

"Oh, it's Sonic," I said, hurrying down the hall, looking for an occupied area.

"Hey, like Sonic the Hedgehog, that's cool," Blitz smiled, following behind me. "That a nickname or were his parents big fans?"

"Er... no, it's... he's actually-"

"There you are dude!" I looked up to see Sonic poking his head out from a door. "I was worried you got lost or something! Who's that?" I heard Blitz gasp a bit, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Sonic, I want you to meet Blitz the Bat," I said, not bothering to hide my amusement, "Blitz... Sonic the Hedgehog."

I watched as Blitz' face changed with each thought that crossed his mind. Amazement, confusion, amazement again, confusion again, before going back to his calm demeanor. "You have quite the taste in friends Josh."

* * *

Sonic apologized for leaving me behind, I apologized for wandering off, and we walked into... what could barely be called an office. Bare concrete walls, bare concrete floor, four plain Jane desks with four different lamps on them, and papers and photos scattered on the desks, walls, and floor. And in the middle of the room was one of the biggest people I had ever seen in my life, at least a head taller than Sonic, and built like a tank. A crocodile (or alligator? I can't tell the difference...) wearing a pair of headphones and a gold chain smiled as warmly as a crocodile (or alligator) could.

"Welcome!" He held out his hand, "Glad you could find your way."

"Er, sorry, I got a bit distracted by something," I replied, taking it. "Josh."

"Vector," The crocodile shook, his grip surprisingly gentle, "Welcome to the Chaotix Detective Agency."

"Excuse me, Vector, right?" Blitz walked up to the crocodile. "Do you run this detective agency?"

"Me and my four partners. We co-founded it," Vector crossed his arms, his large chest puffing out proudly.

"And where are those partners?" Blitz asked, leaning on a desk.

"The other two are out checking something for me and Sonic," Vector explained. Sonic, Blitz, and I all simultaneously squinted in confusion.

"...Other two?" I looked around for another room or another person... but we seemed to be alone... "Who else is here?" I asked.

"I am." A voice came from behind us, making us all jump and turn. A purple lizard of some kind, with a horned nose and spiked wrist cuffs was leaning on a wall, arms crossed, eyes closed. Where did he come from?

"Espio...!" Sonic chuckled a bit, placing a hand on his chest. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear your request," Espio replied, opening his eyes and looking up at us. "And see you leave and come in again with these two."

"So basically the whole time?" Blitz suggested, still looking a bit frazzled, smoothing out his tank top.

"Oh... uh..." Sonic shrugged. "Sorry? What can I say, you're a good ninja I guess."

"A ninja? Like... an actual ninja?" I asked, more to Espio than Sonic. The reptile nodded. "That's so cool...! So can you like... disappear in a puff of smoke and stuff like that?" Espio nodded again, closing his eyes... and vanishing. I felt my eyes go wide. "...cool..." Espio appeared a few moments later, sitting on a desk, one leg crossed over the other. He nodded appreciatively at me, a small smile on his face.

"So, why do you need detectives Sonic?" Blitz asked.

"We're trying to get this guy home," Sonic replied, pointing at me. "He used Chaos Control to get here, we're hoping to use the Chaos Emeralds so we can get him back. We think the red one might be here in Casinopolis," Blitz nodded slowly, his ears perking up a bit.

"...and... what exactly does this Chaos Emerald looks like?" He pressed, starting to sound a bit… worried?

"You don't know?" I asked back, looking over at him.

"Not a lot of people have actually seen or heard of a Chaos Emerald aside from me and a few of my friends," Sonic answered before looking at Blitz. "It's like a big red gem, kinda looks like a cut diamond. Why?" Blitz looked even more bothered, frowning slightly.

"I think I saw something like-"

"We're back boss!" A young voice yelled from the door. A bee in an aviators hood with goggles on his head hovered in, waving a rolled up tube of paper at Vector. "Toldja I knew where it was!"

"He's been blabbing about it non-stop, Vec," Another voice sighed, more adult, closer to Sonic's age and level of cockyness. An armadillo with a red shell walked through the door, rubbing his temples like had a headache, his eyes closed. "I think we should think about docking his-" He paused as he opened his eyes, staring at me for a moment, before a joyful smile appeared on his face. He crossed the room, kneeling in front of me. "You must be Josh, Sonic told us all about you," He said, a caring gentleness in his voice. He extended a hand out. "I'm Mighty," I shook his hand. His grip was firm, nothing painful, but it held me in place as we shook for a moment. He placed his other hand on top of mine. "And don't you worry... you're in good hands, we'll get you back home. Promise."

"O-Oh, um, er… t-thanks…"

That was abrupt, not even Claudio had been that friendly and touchy-feely with his introduction.

Mighty's my new favorite.

He stood up, giving my hair a quick tousle, before yanking the poster away from the now dancing bee. "Thank you, Charmy..."

"Hey!"

"Here you go Vec..." Mighty rolled out the poster, using a lamp to hold down one of the ends. "Charmy was right..." Vector put his hands on the table, leaning over the poster as he read it, sighing quietly. Sonic and I exchanged a worried glance before joining the crocodile (I'm just gonna go with crocodile). Sonic read the poster out loud.

"High Stakes Hold 'Em, Big Bucks, Big Wins… and the grand prize…"

My ring suddenly began to shake as the last of the color drained from it.

"A pure, red ruby."

A bright flash briefly lit up the room, and I felt my hand slam down on the poster. Everyone looked at me, startled, while I stared down at my hand, slowly, shakily, lifting it up.

Underneath it was a picture of the Red Chaos Emerald.

* * *

Sonic and I stood out in the hallway… I was feeling a bit funny after what had happened, a little drained, similar to how I felt after I used Chaos Blast. I leaned on a wall, staring down at the ring. It had changed again. It was studded with clear, glass spikes along the top, nothing sharp enough to prick you, but they hurt if you pushed hard enough. We listened as the group inside talked, their voices muffled by the thick, brick walls.

"...so, maybe I was right?" Sonic asked. "When the color runs out, we find the Chaos Emerald?"

"Seeing a picture of it in the poster hardly counts," I countered, finally looking back up at him. "But… it seems like too much of a coincidence that we finally get our first clue the moment the color went away… and the ring didn't go back to normal either…" I waved it around for emphasis. No color change, just clear.

"We must be doing something right," Sonic moved next to me, leaning and crossing his legs. "Odd looking shape though, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it looks so…" I paused, blinking for a moment as I remembered something. "Angry. Eggman supercharged the Emeralds with the emotion that corresponded to them, the red one was anger."

"More confirmation we're on the right track," Sonic replied, smiling confidently.

"But there's still no guarantee we'll get the Emerald…" I said, looking down at my shoes, tapping the toes together. "That poker game complicates things, and from what Blitz said, the manager of the place won't be willing to just hand it over, even if you're a big time hero."

"...Are you always this down?" Sonic asked, nudging me. "You gotta lighten up dude! Like, I can count on one hand how much I've seen you smile since you've been here."

_Not a lot in your life to smile about huh?_

Shut up.

"Just been stressed, you know?" I replied.

"Well, de-stress," Sonic said, raising a finger, "there's only so much worrying will do for you."

"I mean… I know…" I sighed a bit. "Just… Jacob's all I got, you know? I worry about him like… all the time…" I laughed a bit, shaking my head. "...without him then… I'd be all alone, you know? I mean that sounds selfish, but… I need him… and he needs me… neither of us want to end up without anyone to look up to…" I turned to Sonic, looking up at him, to continue my thought, when I saw that look on his face again, this time, in clear view. I still couldn't tell what he was thinking… he looked so serious. He turned his head a bit to look at the ground behind me for a moment, sighing quietly, before looking back at me.

"Josh... are you-"

"Hey guys...?" Mighty poked his head out the door. "Sorry for interrupting, but we gotta talk."


	16. We Made Sonic Wear a Tux

I shifted in my seat as I stared back at the set of monitors in front of me. An image of Sonic flickered back at me, a slightly overhead shot of him pulling on the collar of a white, button-up shirt we made him wear, along with a very nice tuxedo, shiny shoes and all, generously donated by Blitz. I looked over at Vector, who was pulling a small stand microphone towards him.

"Can you hear me Sonic?" He asked. Sonic gave a small nod.

"Are you sure I have to wear this?" Sonic grumbled quietly.

"Glad the earpiece is working," I chuckled a bit. "You have to look nice Sonic, you're going to be… you know… with nice people…" I trailed off a bit. I watched Sonic smirk and look around.

"You saying I don't normally look nice bud?" He asked. I watched him start to walk forward, vanishing from view on one monitor, and appearing on another, at a different angle.

"N-No, I just-"

"I'm teasing, relax," Sonic laughed a bit again. "Do I look ok?"

"Yup, you clean up nice…" I laughed softly as Sonic gave the camera a wink. "So... why do we have all these cameras even though the game isn't taking place on the casino floor...?" I asked, looking over at the Chaotix who were, surprisingly, laser-focused on their work. Mighty was manning a separate station full of even more monitors, Espio was on a computer looking up information, Charmy… well, actually, Charmy was bringing us refreshments, which was, in his eyes, very important, and Vector was at the helm of the whole thing. I was seated to his right, staring at a small bank of screens that changed every now and then as Mighty sent us camera views he thought were important, while Espio occasionally pinged us some relevant information that would appear on top the images.

"We just like to be thorough," Mighty said, looking over some of the monitors obscuring him and smiling at me. "You never know, we might catch someone else cheating. We might be able to knock them out of the game, which means less competition for us."

"Aren't we cheating too?" Sonic asked, adjusting his sleeves for the umpteenth time.

"Technically, no," Espio said, typing furiously into his computer still, "The rules state that we cannot look at another player's cards unless that player reveals them at the table. Since there's no camera in the room, and because the only camera Sonic has on him is the feed we're going to get from his contacts, which won't allow us to see anyone else's cards other than his own, it's not cheating."

"But what about us talking in his ear," I couldn't help but chuckle as I asked, "That seems like cheating."

"Nothing in the rules says that you can't recieve external coaching," Vector smirked, "And it definitely never mentioned that the external coaches couldn't be in a different room."

"I dunno, this whole thing still seems a bit sketchy…" I said quietly… "What if they kick him out-"

"Deep breaths Josh," Sonic said quietly, looking up at the camera we were watching him on, "It'll be ok. Ok?"

"...alright…" I finally said.

"Just keep an eye on me, ok? Use those Creepy Senses of yours to help me out," Sonic smiled a bit and nodded.

Everybody found out about my Creepy Senses when we began to play some practice games, in order to see who was going to go down and play. Sonic noticed I would act funny whenever someone would bluff and called me out on it, which lead me to spilling the beans. Everyone agreed this was very useful. Only reason I wasn't down there was because, despite him saying otherwise, he had the best poker face, and made the smartest plays out of all of us. He whooped my butt, cleaning me out pretty early in the practice game. He chalked it up to saying he could see my tells pretty easily.

"Alright Sonic, we're gonna be turning on your contact cams, ready?" Vector motioned to Mighty, who pushed a button. "You might see a bright light for just a second when it-"

Sonic suddenly stumbled back, covering his face, like he just got smacked in the forehead. "Thanks for the warning..." He grumbled, walking forward, blinking a few times. An image transferred to one of the monitors in front of me and Vector. A first person view of the casino. Slot machines and table games stretching from red and gold patterned wall to red and gold patterned wall. Smoke hung in the air, creating a sort of haze, giving the video an almost dream-like quality. Sonic made another turn and headed up a flight of stairs.

"Looking good Sonic," I said, watching closely, "We're seeing everything."

"That's good," Sonic nodded, "'Cuz all I can see is a bright spot..."

"We'll fill you in on players as you see them," Vector said. Sonic only nodded again as he turned another corner, heading down a hallway to a set of glass double doors. He pushed into the room, and stepped into another world. The room was a cooling blue, in contrast to the chaotic red and gold outside. Blue carpeting with thin white lines running through it, and white walls and ceiling illuminated by small, blue spotlights. A bar hung off to the right, the glassware behind the bar twinkling in the light. To the left was a lounge area, with soft looking couches and love seats, all of them upholstered in a luxurious navy blue. Above, a small crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, sending a soft white glow through hundreds of twinkling jewels into the room. It was beautiful, serene, so different from the gaudiness and craziness of the casino floor. Sonic walked in, heading to the bar and asking for an ice water. He looked around... a couple of people had already come in.

"Ok, on your left, the badger is Pearson Green, he runs a publishing company, and on your left is Virginia White, also known as The White Wolf, she's the head of InCOM," Vector said, reading off a few sheets of paper he had in front of him. "They've been coming to this game ever since Mr. Boddy started this game."

"Says here they don't play great, but they have a lot of Rings to play with," I read, leaning a bit closer to the papers, Vector politely scooting them between us, "So... we might be able to use."

"And the elephant in the corner of the room is the Colonel Albert Mustard," Vector said. Sonic turned his head, looking at a slightly elderly looking man in a dark blue military uniform, adorned with many metals. "Served overseas 20 years ago, one of Mr. Boddy's oldest friends. He's been playing since the beginning as well, though more for the drinks and conversation."

"Shouldn't be too hard to knock him out," I mumbled, scanning over the documents. Two people were yet to show up... Professor Henry Plum, an estudious fox who was famous for inventing something called "light-based eonic communication," whatever that was, and a last minute wild card entry, a cat named Natalia Scharlachrot, which is apparently pronounced sha-la-hoht, I guess. Beyond that though, we didn't have much on her, which was odd... And then, of course, the man of the hour, Mr. Boddy. He was the proud owner of, not just this casino, but a bunch of casinos throughout the area. He was loaded, and liked to host things like this, events where Rings flowed freely, just to show it off. He never seemed to mean it in a bragging sort of way, he just liked spending his cash. When asked why, he just shrugged and said "What else would I do with it?" Everyone invited was selected because of the large amounts of Rings they made. All aside from us.

"Why is Boddy even letting us play this game?" I asked, looking over at Vector. He just shrugged.

"Your friend Blitz said he would take care of it," He replied, reaching over and taking a large gulp of water from a nearby cup. "We'll see how good his word is."

Let me just add here, really quick, even sitting down, Vector was an intimidating sight. He stood head and shoulders above everybody, and it looked like he was built like a tank, just... muscles everywhere. I thanked my lucky starts he was on my side. But, once he got to know you, turns out he's a pretty big softy, especially when it concerned younger clients, such as myself. Case in point, lunch.

"Alright," He said as he stood up, stretching his back. "I'm gonna go grab everything before the game starts. You sure you don't want anything else?" He asked, looking down at me. I laughed a bit.

"You ordered practically everything off the menu for me, I won't be able to eat all of it!" I replied.

"You're a growing boy, and this game could go on for a while. Not to mention, you're probably pretty stressed," Vector explained. "C'mon boys, let's get some grub." The Chaotix stood up, starting to file out of the room. Mighty looked back at me.

"You're sure you'll be ok on your own?" He asked. I nodded.

"I'll be fine Mighty," I chuckled a bit, "I've been alone for a couple minutes before, I'm a big boy." Mighty nodded and left, closing the door behind him. I leaned back in the folding chair, grabbing the microphone and pulling it to me, laying it on my stomach. "Alright Sonic... just you and me." I heard Sonic let out a quiet, breathy laugh. "Maybe I could tell you to do embarrassing things and you have to them, like on those prank shows?"

"Or how about we try not to make it obvious I have something in my ear?" Sonic muttered into his glass before taking a sip. I laughed a bit, leaning back.

"Oh, hey, what did you want to talk to me about earlier, before Mighty interrupted us?" I asked, looking around at a few of the monitors. "It sounded serious."

"It's... not exactly the right time," He said, looking around to see if anyone was watching him. No one was. "I just had a question, that's all, it's nothing you gotta worry about right now."

"...alright..." I mean, he seemed pretty worried at the time, but if he didn't want to talk about it... "How you feeling?"

"Fine," Sonic replied, taking another drink, "I've done crazier things than playing hoity-toity poker, eating hoity toity food, and drinking hoity toity drinks for a Chaos Emerald."

"I guess that's true," I sighed a bit, looking around at the monitors. "Kinda jealous, I'm getting burgers, you're getting 5 star cuisine."

"Hey, give me a burger over foie gras any day," Sonic replied, "All this fancy stuff is too rich for my taste." I laughed, closing my eyes for a moment. A few thoughts raced through my head all at once...

"...Do you think we can do this...?" I asked quietly. Sonic didn't say anything for a moment.

"Hey... I promise, one way or another, I'll get that Emerald for you," Sonic replied, "I gotcha buddy. I'll take care of you."

"Take care of 'you?'" I asked, tilting my head a bit, chuckling a bit.

"It. Take care of it," Sonic shook his head, laughing softly. He paused for a bit. "Though, if you need me t-

I didn't hear the rest of what he said. I started breaking out into a cold sweat. My heart pounded. I quickly sat up, looking around... what was that about...?

I heard footsteps from outside the door. I turned, listening as whoever it was passed the detective's office. I slowly stood up, setting the microphone on the table.

"Josh...? Buddy, you there...?" I quickly picked up a small earpiece, similar to what Sonic currently had.

"Someone just walked outside the office," I said, pushing the piece into my ear and walking over to the door, "They triggered my Creepy Senses."

"Your Creepy Senses? The ones that you just told us let you know when something's wrong?" Sonic asked.

"Yup."

"And from the sound of it, you're getting up to try to follow the person."

"Mhmm."

"And none of this sounds like a bad idea to you?"

"Look, no one else is here except me, and if they're after the Emerald, or worse, you, someone's gotta try to stop them," I said as I quietly opened the door, slipping outside.

"I can take care of myself bud, just wait for them to get back," Sonic urged, sounding like he may have been a bit louder than he meant.

"Look, it might be nothing, I told you, it's like... 70% accurate-"

"And it goes up when you're stressed. You're not exactly relaxed right now."

"Look I'll just..." I sighed a bit as I looked down the halls, listening for footsteps. As far as I knew, this floor was empty aside from me and, now, the mysterious stranger, so it wasn't hard to hear, "I'll just spy on them, I won't engage..."

"Josh don't go-ugh..." I could almost hear Sonic shaking his head. "Fine, just... if someone sees you, tell them you're lost and you're looking for the detective agency."

"Got it," I snuck around the corner, catching a glimpse of someone slipping into a shop. I hurried forward, wanting to peek into the window. I crouched, placing my hands on the wall as I got under the window, and slowly raised my head up. I was greeted by a thick piece of brown canvas paper. I looked over to see more papers go up on all the windows of the shop.

"Something's going on..." I said, looking around, "They covered up the windows."

"Josh, get out of there...!" Sonic hissed urgently, "They're up to no good obviously...!"

"But what if they're after the Emerald?" I whispered back, looking for any crack I could peek through.

"You're more important than some stupid Emerald, just get back to the office!"

"But Sonic-"

The door suddenly opened again. I quickly stood up, trying to casually lean against the wall. Nothing suspicious going on with me. No sir. I wasn't peeking. The person who came out, some kind of gorilla, possibly a silver backed one, in a hawaiian shirt and shorts (trying to look like a tourist?) looked me up and down for a moment before gruffly addressing me.

"You the guy?" He asked, holding up a silver briefcase. Um…

"Yup. That's me." I replied, trying to sound tough.

"What, who's you?" Sonic asked, sounding more panicked. I ignored him, walking forward and holding out my hand. The gorilla shoved the briefcase at me.

"Hurry up, boss is waiting," The man growled, opening the door for me. I nodded, scooting into the skeleton of a shop not yet realized. The walls hadn't even had drywall put in yet, the wood studs and wiring out for everyone to see. In the middle of the room was a table full of scientific equipment, beakers, burners, scales, powders... I walked over to the table, looking at it.

"Payment's in the briefcase," The ape grunted, leaning on the door, "You'll get the rest once you do what you need to do."

"Y...yes... perfect..." I replied, gazing at all the various bits and bobs on the table. If it wasn't obvious before, I was in trouble. There were a few problems. The first, and most pressing... whoever this guy is looking for, it wasn't me, it was some kind of chemist or scientist. I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

"Well?" He grunted impatiently, motioning to the table, "You gonna do what we paid you to do, or are we gonna have a problem?"

"...I can't do it with you watching," I said, thinking quickly, "Trade secret... can't let anybody else see."

"I'm not leaving," The man grunted, crossing his arms.

"Then I won't make it," I shrugged, "And you can beat me up if you'd like, that just means your boss won't get what they want." I stared the man down, listening to Sonic make a confused and concerned noise in my ear, before waving my hand to shoo the ape out. The gorilla huffed angrily, before turning, yanking the door open, and marching through it. I sighed a bit. "Problem one is solved..." I mumbled.

"Now what are you going to do when the actual guy gets here?" Sonic asked, "That guy you were talking to is gonna know what you're up to when the actual person gets here!"

"I know," I muttered, fear starting to build up in me. "I-I gotta get rid of one of them somehow..."

"...ok, ok, calm down, just..." Sonic paused for a bit before speaking again, "This might work, just repeat everything I say," I listened to a few more instructions from Sonic before moving to the door and cracking open the door a bit.

"Hey!" I hissed out to the gorilla, trying to sound angry, "Your boss just called me, pissed!"

"Called you?" The gorilla grunted, looking over at me.

"They've been trying to get ahold of you, why aren't you answering?" I looked down the hall the other way, looking for any sign of the actual chemist.

"I haven't gotten any calls," The gorilla responded, suddenly starting to sound a lot less tough. He pulled a glass smartphone out of his pocket, checking it. "I-I haven't gotten any-"

"Well I did, and I just got an earful!" I raised my voice a bit, trying to look flustered, "They just kept asking 'why isn't he guarding the hall'-"

"B-But I am guarding the ha-"

"The hall where the game is you idiot!" I let myself yell a bit before lowering my voice. I looked around again. "Look... get down there, or it's both our necks, got it?" I watched the man nod fearfully before practically stumbling over himself to get to the elevator. I couldn't help but smile a bit as I closed the door, leaning against it and sighing.

"...ok... now mind telling me what the heck is going on?" Sonic said slowly.

"I'm not sure... but it's something to do with the poker game..." I muttered.

"You sure?"

"The guard didn't bat an eye when I told him to guard the game, he didn't think it was weird his boss wanted him there. Not to mention, pretty weird coincidence this guy shows up the same day as a poker game where tons of dollars-"

"Rings."

"Rings are on the line," I explained.

"So what do you think they're going to do?" Sonic asked, starting to sound serious.

"Something to do with chemicals... poison maybe...?" I mused.

"Right..." Sonic was quiet, apparently dumping his drink in a plant. "Ok, get out of there."

"I'm not done yet," I replied, "I wanna see who Mungo was waiting for and what they were going to make."

"Josh-"

There was a knocking on the door. "Just hang tight," I whispered, hurrying over to the door, cracking it open. A green lizard in a black hoodie glared at me. "...are you the guy?" I asked, holding up the briefcase. The lizard nodded, eyeing the briefcase hungrily. I opened the door, letting him slither in. "Advance payment in the case, you get the rest when you do what we're paying you to do."

"Yeah yeah..." The lizard yanked the briefcase out of my hand, making his way over to the table. "...awfully scrawny for a bodyguard." He remarked, looking back at me. "What are you anyway, some kinda deformed monkey?"

"...yes..." I said slowly.

"Did he just call you a deformed monkey?" Sonic asked, suddenly sounding like he was going to punch someone.

"Huh... weird..." The lizard stared for a while more before going to the table, getting right to work. He began to mix various powders and liquids together, boiling them, sifting them, all sorts of things I just couldn't follow, until finally, he poured a highlighter yellow liquid into a small tube, stopping the top with a cork. He walked over to me and practically shoved the tube into my chest.

"Just a couple drops," He said quietly, walking past me. "This stuff is my strongest blend."

"Er, yeah... t-thank you," I mumbled, staring at the tube.

"Did you just say thank you?" Sonic asked. I quickly looked over at the lizard, who was looking back at me with an odd look.

"...are you waiting for an invitation or something?" I asked, trying to sound angry, "Get out of here! You'll get your Rings before the day is out!" The lizard sniffed a bit before nodding a bit.

"...weird monkey..." He muttered, smirking a bit, before strolling out of the door. I waited for a few minutes, making sure he was gone, before dashing over to the table, pocketing the tube as well as all the materials I could grab, then sweeping off all the beakers, burners, equipment, everything, off onto the ground, watching everything break and shatter. I bolted out of the room, sprinting down the hall and locking myself back into the detective agency. I hid behind a desk, taking deep breaths.

"Josh, are you ok?" Sonic asked urgently.

"Yeah, I'm good..." I replied, looking down at the tube of yellow... stuff. "Someone was trying to sabotage the game..."

"What'd you find out?" Sonic asked, sounding a bit calmer.

"I don't know... they made some kind of chemical, and whatever it does, it only takes a couple of drops," I replied. I pulled on the cork a bit, wiggling it out just a little to take a sniff. It smelled like some kind of fruit, but, since I wasn't smelling it directly, it was hard to make out... not that I really wanted to be taking big sniffs of whatever this was... I already felt a small buzzing in my head.

"Ok, come down here," Sonic said urgently, "I don't want you alone up there."

"Copy that, on my way..." I agreed, checking to make sure no one was standing outside the office, before standing and depositing the stuff I stole in a desk drawer. I made my way slowly to the office door, crawling just in case somebody was looking for me. As long as I stayed low to the ground and hugged the wall, no one would see me through the glass door, and the windows were placed in such a way they couldn't see much of the floor. I settled beneath one of the windows, taking a deep breath before peeking around to see if anyone was standing outside the glass door.

Someone was.

A pair of icy blue eyes stared down at me.


	17. "I Suspect Fowl Play"

When the Chaotix returned, they found me huddled in a corner with Sonic doing his best to soothe me through the earbud, and a drawer full of strange powders and liquids open near me. After Sonic convinced them I WASN'T having a drug overdose, and after some consoling from the detectives, I did my best to describe what happened. The problem was, it was a little fuzzy... I remembered the eyes, a cold, hard blue, like ice. I couldn't tear myself away from them, they were filled with such... anger. And while whoever it was stared at me, stared INTO me, a sort of inner, primal panic began to well up inside, getting stronger and stronger. I felt paralyzed. I didn't even realize I had fled into a corner until Vector literally shook me, calling my name. But despite the terror I felt, I could hardly remember a thing. Everything seemed blurry when I tried to think back, like looking at a badly taken photo.

"And you don't remember anything else about them?" Mighty asked, rubbing my back slowly. I closed my eyes again.

"...Green... I don't know, there was green," I said slowly, shaking my head, "But I don't know if it was their clothes or their fur or what..."

"Don't worry about it bud," Sonic consoled, "But maybe no more solo investigating, stay with the Chaotix."

"Y-Yeah..." I mumbled, nodding my head. I closed my eyes again and took a deep breath. "I'm ok, I just had a... um..." I paused... what did I just have? "...A panic attack I guess?" I finally said, shrugging.

"Told ya you're stressed," Vector said, wagging a finger at me before reaching back and grabbing a fast food bag from Charmy. He plunked it down onto a metal table. "Come sit with us and eat somethin', the game's about to begin." He invited, holding out his hand. I nodded, letting Vector help me stand and guide me back to my chair. He sat next to me and turned his attention to his own bag of food. I reached into the bag Vector set down, unwrapped a large and slightly greasy cheeseburger, tried not to think about where the meat came from in a world inhabited by animals, and ate. I watched the monitors as Sonic sat down at the poker table with all the other players. He sat right across from Mr. Boddy, an old-looking beagle with eyebrows so bushy you couldn't see his eyes (Though, to be fair, he had very small eyes for a Mobian). Just think "cartoon-old-man-looking-guy." He even had a bushy mustache that moved when he spoke instead of his mouth, like the Mayor from the Powerpuff Girls.

"Welcome everybody," He began as he looked around the blue velvet poker table, his voice deep and sonorous, sounding much younger than his looks let on, "And welcome to our annual poker game!" Everyone clapped, a couple of people even whooped and cheered. "And a special welcome to our guests this evening, Mr. Sonic the Hedgehog, and Ms. Scharlachrot!" More clapping. "Mr. Hedgehog has been invited to play in the place of Rush, who, unfortunately, won't be joining us tonight. It's a pleasure to have you with us Sonic."

"Likewise Mr. Boddy," Sonic nodded politely to the old dog, then to everyone else at the table.

"...Who's Rush?" I asked out loud, talking around a mouthful of food.

"Blitz' friend," Espio said from his corner of the room, *Rush is a big magician working in another casino. He was slated to play, but when Blitz told him your situation, he let Sonic take his place."

"Well then, let's not waste any time shall we?" The dog produced a deck of unopened cards and tore open the seal. He fanned the cards out face up, letting everyone see. Espio carefully inspected his screen as Sonic glanced over the cards.

"All different... it's a fair deck," He confirmed, looking over at Vector. The crocodile nodded.

"Ok everyone... Showtime..." He called out, leaning forward and popping an entire burger into his mouth, his gaze leveling on the monitor in front of him. I took a deep breath, doing my best to shake the thoughts of the mysterious stranger from my head. Sonic needed my help.

* * *

"I fold," Ms. White said, throwing her cards away from her and smoothing out her white suit, looking a bit disappointed as she ran her fingers through the long head fur that fell over her shoulders. I couldn't remember a lot of their first names, so I started referring to everyone by their surnames. It was easier, considering the pattern, they all had names from CLUE. Weird coincidence but hey, made it easier for me. Also, it was fun to realize that Sonic, the blue player, would end up being Mrs. Peacock if I continued the pattern.

"Fold," Mr. Green slid his cards into the middle, "This is just not my game..." He slugged back another shot of whiskey. Despite the incredible amount he'd been drinking, he didn't seem to show any signs of drunkenness, at all. Either that, or he was an incredible functioning drunk.

"You and me both," Prof. Plum grumbled, tossing away his cards and removing his glasses to wipe his eyes. He looked tired, though I suspected it was less because he didn't sleep well, and more because he was just one of those people who were always a bit exhausted no matter what they did. Sonic lifted up his cards again. A 2 of clubs and a 7 of spades... He looked over at Colonel Mustard, who was peeking at his cards again through his bifocals.

"Hm... no need for me to play," The elephant replied, carefully sliding his cards across the table to Mr. Boddy. He'd been playing fairly conservatively most of the night, though it seemed to be less about strategy, and more to enjoy the company of his friends around the table without being distracted by strategy.

"I'll play," Ms. Natalia (why did her last name have to break the pattern?) purred in a thick accent, entering a number into a small, black, numeric keypad she held in her lap. A small section in the middle of the table flipped over, displaying a number, the bet the black cat just made. Because Rings were a digital currency, rather than using chips as we do on Earth, Mobians made bets using small, wireless keypads. Apparently most tables just had a digital readout in the middle, but this one was _fancy_. Every time the panel in the middle flipped over, the new pot total was displayed.

"She's got the small blind," Mighty stated, "Of course she's going to throw in the rest to play." Now, I knew much less about poker than I realized when we did the practice rounds before the game, so I ended up learning quite a bit of jargon, like the blinds, for example. I learned that the blinds referred to a set amount of Rings that two players were required to throw into the pot before each hand. One player paid the big blind, and the other paid the small blind, which was about half the amount of the big one. If anyone wanted to play in any given hand, they would have to put in at least as much as the big blind. For this hand, Sonic had the big blind and Natalia had the small blind. Since she'd already put in half, all she had to do if she wanted to play was throw in the rest.

"Hey, Sonic..." I squinted a bit, leaning forward. My Creepy Senses, we learned, are dulled when I'm not physically near whatever is triggering them, so it was sometimes hard to tell if I was feeling something or if it was just me being a sweaty person in a warm room next to a crocodile that was radiating heat. But this time... "I'm pretty sure she's bluffing, at least for now. Keep an eye on her."

"Check," Sonic said, tapping the table twice. Checking in poker is like passing in a way. It meant you still wanted to play, but you didn't want to make a bet. You could only do this if no one else on the table had made a bet prior to you, or, like in Sonic's case, you had the big blind at the start of the hand and no one had made a bet larger than that.

"You sure she's bluffing?" Vector asked me quietly. I shrugged.

"Am I ever?" I looked up at Vector, flashing him a tight smile. "A 70% chance of being right has a 30% of failing."

"Where'd you pull 70% from anyway?" Mighty asked, looked over at me. "Seems kinda arbitrary."

"When I was younger, my brother and I actually kept track of how many times my Creepy Senses were right, and how many times it was either a false alarm, or I didn't catch something that my Senses should have picked up on," I smiled a bit. Me and Jake were pretty proud of ourselves, we felt like scientists doing some grand experiment. "We would keep track month by month. We did it for about a year, totaled it all up, and... 70% was the average."

"Here comes the flop..." Vector said, turning my attention back to the monitor. Mr. Boddy, who'd been acting as dealer the entire game, burned the top card of the deck and dealt out three more. 2 of Spades, 4 of Diamonds, 5 of Diamonds.

"Well, he's got a pair of twos," Espio mumbled, rubbing his lips thoughtfully. I stared at the 2 in the middle of the table. It was better than having nothing, but a pair of two's was still a weak hand. It wouldn't take much to beat it.

"Bet. 1600," Ms. Natalia said, entering the amount into her keypad… I couldn't figure out what language her accent was supposed to be. The Chaotix all leaned back a bit in their seats, expressing amazement in their own ways.

"Looks like she's got a 3 and 6," Mighty said after whistling a bit, "A straight..." It was certainly possible, the 2, 4, and 5 on the table set someone up nicely for a straight, if they had the right cards. But...

"...No, she's still bluffing..." I said, feeling a bit more sure of myself. "Sonic, call." Calling in poker means you'll match the most recent bet that was made, in this case, 1600.

"I'll call," Sonic said, pushing a designated "call" button on the keypad and watching the panel in the table flip to the new total. Mr. Boddy nodded, burned the next card, and dealt another next to the other three. The 2 of Hearts.

"Three of a kind!" I cheered, pointing to the monitor, "He's won this hand!"

"Not yet," Espio warned, "She could have a pocket pair, and if it matches anything-"

"A pocket pair?" I asked, trying to politely cut in.

"She had a pair dealt to her," The chameleon explained, "And if it matches anything in the middle..."

"...she could tie or beat our three of a kind with her own..." I said slowly. I looked back at the table as the cat made her next bet, 5000 Rings.

"She could still have a straight," Vector said, rubbing his chin as Sonic called, "She's betting like she is." The final community card came, 9 of spades.

"Bet... all in," Natalia purred, pressing a button. The rest of the woman's rings went to the middle. More Creepy Senses.

"What is she doing...?" I muttered.

"I'm telling you, she has a straight, Sonic get out of there," Vector said into the microphone. Sonic paused before pushing another button.

"Call," He said quietly. We watched as all of Sonic's Rings appeared in the middle of the table. Vector groaned.

"Alright you two, showdown," Mr. Boddy announced, pointing to Sonic and Natalia. Sonic flipped over his cards, then looked over at the black cat's.

"What...?" I muttered, feeling my eyes widen.

The 8 of Hearts, and the Jack of Spades. She had, basically, nothing. Sonic won the hand, earned over 10,000 Rings, and knocked Natalia out of the game. The Chaotix whooped and cheered, Vector clapping me hard on the back.

"Shouldn't have doubted you, kid!" He grinned at me, patting me a couple more times before standing.

"We'll take an hour-long break, we shall resume at 8:15 sharp," Mr. Boddy announced, standing up and motioning for the others to do the same, "Please be punctual, we shall proceed whether or not all of our players have returned," Vector crossed the room to the door.

"Alright boys, snacks are on me this time," He announced, which prompted everyone to scramble to the door. The crocodile turned back to me. "You comin'?"

"I'm alright," I smiled, "I'm a little tired, think I might just rest my eyes for a bit." Vector nodded before turning to the door. He waved a hand as he walked out.

"Great work today kid!" He called over his shoulder as the door closed. I sat in silence for a while.

"...Sonic?"

"I know... that play didn't sit right with me either..." He muttered, putting a gloved hand over his mouth to hide his talking.

"She went all-in with nothing in her hand," I said, shaking my head. "It's almost like she was..."

...Woah. I felt a tingle run through my body as I sat up and pulled the cat's papers over to me again. Almost no information... not even some of the basics. "She wanted out of there."

"My thoughts exactly," Sonic said, standing and stretching out, "She's up to something."

"Do you think she ordered the chemist?" I asked.

"There's only one way to find out," He said, looking around the room. He quickly caught sight of the cat as she was making her way out the door of the room. "Hey, does she seem familiar to you?"

"Sonic, I've never met any talking black cats until now," I said.

"Right," He chuckled a bit, following the woman down the hall. She was waiting in front of an elevator, making notes in her glass phone.

"Get close, I think Espio has a facial recognition thingy I can run... maybe we'll find out more about her this way," I said, moving over to Espio's station and poking around his computer, finding that he did, indeed, have a facial recognition "thingy." Lucky for me, it seemed fairly user-friendly. I pulled up Sonic's contact lens camera feed on the monitor, watching as he hustled over to the elevator as the door opened. He quickly slipped in.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked. I could almost hear the charming smile on his face. The cat seemed a bit surprised but nodded after regaining her faculties, flashing him a rather flirtatious smile of her own. I quickly began running the facial recognition software.

"Of course," She replied, her ear flicking. The door closed on them, and Sonic reached down and pushed a button. Before Natalia could push her own, he spoke up.

"You lost that last hand on purpose…" He said quietly. The cat froze. Her ears flattened a bit. Busted. Sonic leaned towards her, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. "Now… you're gonna come with me. My friends and I have a few questions."

Natalia cleared her throat before she spoke, quietly, and without any trace of an accent. "Whatever you think I've done... you've got the wrong girl..." Both Sonic and I felt our brains hiccup for just a moment at the sudden change. The computer dinged. I looked over at the screen blankly, staring at the image that came up.

"Uh... Sonic... she's not Natalia Sharla-" My tongue got tied. "...Scharle-" I shook my head. "She's not who we thought she was."

* * *

"I thought you looked familiar," Sonic chuckled, sitting opposite the cat who was nursing at a bottle of water. He looked down at the info I printed out. "Channel 6 news, Natalie Scarlet, Investigative Reporter."

"Your cover name is terrible," Espio shook his head a bit. He didn't mean it rudely, he was just stating the fact. "It's just your name translated into a foreign language."

"Fooled you guys," She replied, crossing her arms. Espio huffed grumpily, looking away, trying to hide a blush. The entire Chaotix team seemed to be having a hard time looking at Natalie... I think they were attracted to her. And, I guess it wasn't hard to see why. She was aware of the effect she had on the boys, throwing them small smiles or winks every now and then to keep them on their toes. The only two that didn't seem affected were me and Sonic. I mean, I personally wasn't really attracted to animals, and Sonic was probably used to resisting Amy, so this was nothing for him.

"What are you doing here Ms. Scarlet?" I asked, leaning back in my chair, "And why adopt a fake name? Especially if you're a TV reporter, wouldn't people recognize your face?"

"Casinopolis doesn't get Channel 6," She explained, turning to me and relaxing her posture, "So it was unlikely anyone would know who I was. Even if they did get Channel 6, I'm... yet to get a big break," She shifted in her seat a bit, averting her gaze, "Most of the things I report on aren't things people really pay attention to." She shook it off. "I took on the fake name as an extra precaution, I didn't want anyone to know I was here."

"Which brings me back to what exactly you're doing here," I said again, leaning forward, "And why you were trying to leave the game so quickly." The cat looked around, as if checking to see if anyone was listening, before leaning forward as well.

"I think someone's planning to kill Mr. Boddy," She replied, lowering her voice. No one spoke for a moment.

"That's a pretty... bold claim," Vector said, starting to sound uneasy. "You got proof?"

"I got this on my desk a few days ago," Natalie carefully stuck her fingers down the front of the dress (Vector had to turn away again) and pulled out a tightly folded up piece of paper. She stood, placing the paper on a table and opening it, smoothing it out. A short, typed note: "I will kill Mr. Boddy during the Poker Game."

"...Yeah... that looks like proof to me," Mighty replied, turning the note towards him to examine it. "Why not take this to the police?"

"I did, but they told me that Mr. Boddy spared no expense on security," The cat replied, "This hasn't been his first death threat."

"I didn't see much security down there," I said thoughtfully.

"Exactly," Natalie looked over at me, "You can't plan against something you can't see."

"Why would you announce that they're going to kill someone?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms and shaking his head, "If this is a real threat, it's like this guy's asking to be stopped."

"Some people get a kick out of it," Natalie said, stepping back, "The thrill of knowing you're being chased, that someone's on your tail and could send your whole plan toppling down in seconds." Sonic hummed a bit. He didn't really seem satisfied with the answer, and to be honest, neither did I. But it was the only answer we had at the moment. I crossed over to the desk I had stashed the chemicals in, pulling out the test tube of the yellow stuff.

"Well, whoever it is, I think we already stopped them," I said, placing the tube down next to the note. The cat stared at the tube for a moment.

"Where did you find this?" She asked quietly, gingerly picking it up and studying it.

"Someone ordered a chemist to come up here and make it in one of the empty stores," I explained. "I don't know what it is but... apparently a couple of drops is all it takes." Natalie stared at it for a while more before reaching down and lifting up her dress a bit, revealing a pistol strapped against her lower leg. She took off the strap, putting it on the table.

"I found this in a hotel room near the game room. It was set on a timer and aimed to shoot through the wall," She said, crossing her arms again.

"Whoever did this was thorough..." Vector replied, resting his hands on the table and tapping his index finger on it. "...And where there's two, there's probably more..."

"You think whoever's behind this has set up more ways to kill Mr. Boddy than just these?" Mighty asked, handing the note back to Natalie, who folded it up and tucked it back into her dress.

"That's why I was trying to leave the game, I saw a large gorilla start patrolling the hallway outside the room," Scarlet explained, "I thought something might be happening." I winced a bit.

"Sorry, that was my fault," I said, raising my hand, "Mungo was guarding the room the chemist guy was in, I convinced him to go guard the game room."

"His name is Mungo?" Espio asked. I shrugged.

"I dunno, I just started to call him that," I replied.

"Look, there's an unknown number of potential deaths our killer set up for Mr. Boddy," Vector cut in, "Which means we gotta get movin' boys." The crocodile immediately set into motion, the rest of the Chaotix hurrying to lock computers, turn off monitors, and tidy up.

"Wait, are you guys going to search... right now?" I asked, standing up.

"What about Josh, you're not going to leave him here alone again, are you?" Sonic asked incredulously.

"Not a chance, especially if someone was looking for him," Vector replied, "You're taking him with you."

"Um, is that the best idea?" I asked, "Apparently some people think I look a bit... disconcerting." I thought back to the chemist calling me a weird monkey...

"I'd rather you stick with me bud," Sonic said, moving to stand at my side. "Besides, maybe we can use your story to make everyone feel bad and let us win!"

"Or my looks will throw everyone off and they'll make a bunch of costly mistakes," I added.

"Speaking of, don't you have to get back to the game?" Espio asked as he looked up at a clock hanging on the wall. "Your break is almost up." Sonic groaned a bit.

"Yeah, yeah..." He patted my shoulder a couple of times before motioning for the door. "Shall we?"

"May I leave first?" Natalie nodded to the two of us, "People might wonder why you and I wandered off together."

"Whatever you say, Scarlet," Sonic replied, motioning for her to leave.

"...You realize this means that there's a murderer in the casino..." I said quietly, watching the cat compose herself before slinking out the door.

"Maybe," Sonic nodded, "Which is why I need you to stick close to me. Got it?"

"Got it," I nodded back, feeling a bit of a knot start to form in my stomach. I wasn't sure what was making me nervous, the thought of a killer running around, or the thought that I was going to be in a room full of people who were going to look at me funny. Sonic examined me for a moment before taking my hand.

"Hey," He said quietly, bringing our hands up and squeezing mine a bit, "I'll be right there with you, ok?" He smiled confidently, shaking my hand a bit. "Let's face this together."

The knot untwisted. I smiled a bit and squeezed back, nodding a little more confidently. "Ok." I finally replied. Sonic grinned at me, letting go of my hand and wrapping it around my shoulder, jostling me as he walked me out the door.

"Let's go eat some fancy food!" He cheered, pumping his other fist in the air.

* * *

I sat with Natalie on a couch, dressed in a nice tuxedo (thank you Tails), sipping on a "mocktail" (I guess it's a cocktail without alcohol? All I knew was it was GOOD) as I watched the players around the table focus intently on the current hand. Mr. Green and Ms. White were just in a bidding war, constantly one-upping each other, until they were both all in. Everyone held their breath as they waited to see who would come out on top.

"I still don't understand though," I said quietly, looking over at Natalie, "If you thought there was a killer, why didn't you just start by looking for them rather than get yourself into the game?"

"I did both," She simply replied, taking a sip of her drink. It took me a moment to understand what she said.

"...you think the killer's one of them?" I asked a bit louder than I meant to. Luckily, it seemed the winner of the hand had been revealed at that moment, the players at the table erupting into cheers.

"They're each wealthy, they know Mr. Boddy's routines and schedules, likes and dislikes, and it's the perfect time to plan to kill someone when you know exactly where they're going to be for the next few hours," She explained. "Each person in this room ticks off all the boxes for a potential murderer in my opinion."

"What about motive?" I asked, "I thought they were all friends."

"Oh sure," The cat leaned back, swirling her drink a bit, "Unless Mr. Boddy happens to have some dirt on one of them," She said it so casually, it almost didn't register.

"...you think he's blackmailing one of them?" I hissed, looking over at the woman.

"Potentially," She replied, watching as the old dog dealt out the next round, "Wouldn't surprise me. People like them aren't really friends, they just get together to show off their wealth and gloat about the great things they did this year."

"Really...?" I asked. When I was watching the monitors, none of them seemed to be gloating… they were just having a normal conversation. Plus, call me crazy... but something about her theory didn't sit well with me. It wasn't like my Creepy Senses were going off... just a weird gut feeling. "Is there anyone you're thinking might be the blackmail victim?"

"My money's on the Colonel," She replied, jerking her chin slightly in the elephant's direction. I watched Col. Mustard gazing at his cards, jovially elbowing Mr. Boddy seated directly at his right. "There's a rumor that's been going around that he's involved in a gun-trafficking operation."

"But... it's just a rumor, right?" I asked, looking back at the cat. She looked back at me, a gleam in her eye.

"And if it's not?" She purred. I stared at her for a moment before looking back at the game.

"Why don't you tell Mr. Boddy about the threat?" I asked, "Show him the note?"

"If the killer's really in this room, and they sent me the note," She swirled her drink for a moment, "They probably have a contingency plan if I say anything. Mr. Boddy will be dead, and the killer will probably be free in the wind." I nodded, staring at the game without really paying attention to it. Her theory was a bit... theatric, but then again, so is leaving a note saying you're going to kill someone. Still, something about this whole thing didn't quite fit... it was too... too-

"Josh!"

I quickly sat up, looking around for a moment before focusing on Sonic, who was trying to get my attention. He chuckled. "Spacing out there bud?"

"Sorry!" I laughed sheepishly, "Just thinking about... stuff."

"Mr. Boddy asked if you want to play!" Sonic said, motioning me over.

"Um... I-I don't have any Rings!" I replied, looking at the table.

"Already taken care of," Prof. Plum replied, standing and grabbing a chair from the wall and pulling it over, seating it between him and Sonic.

"...taken care of?" I asked, slowly standing.

"We all pitched in a bit to get you started!" Mr. Green said.

"Y-You didn't have to do that-"

"Oh c'mon, it's fine," Ms. White said, waving me over a bit excitedly, "It's all for charity anyway!" I blinked a couple of times.

"...charity?" I asked, walking over to the table.

"John organizes this charity game every year," The Professor explained, handing me a keypad.

"And John is...?" I asked, pointing at Mr. Boddy. The dog nodded, chuckling.

"John Boddy," He replied, formally introducing himself to me.

"Uh, Josh," I responded, nodding politely, "The ad didn't mention this was for charity, sorry."

"Ad?" Mr. Green turned to look at me, the rest of the table looking confused as well.

"Did someone make an advertisement for this?" Ms. White looked around the table, the others shaking their heads.

"There was a poster talking about the game," Sonic explained, looking around, "You don't know about this?" Mr. Boddy thought for a moment before shrugging.

"Perhaps one of my daughters made it," He suggested, "Sarah is going into graphic design, and you all know her habit of misplacing things," The group chuckled knowingly, "In any case, that poster has done us some good! It brought new friends into our midsts, such as yourselves and Ms. Scharlachrot."

"...yes... it did..." I said quietly, glancing over at Sonic. He was looking at me out of the corner of his eye, and I could tell he was thinking the same thing as I was.

* * *

"This is all going according to someone's plan," I said, pacing the restroom slowly during our next break, "Someone wanted all of us in that room." Sonic was leaning against a wall, watching me walk.

"Who?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"I don't know, Natalie thinks it's someone playing the game, but I'm not so sure," I replied, shaking my head, "She says Col. Mustard is gun trafficking and Mr. Boddy is trying to blackmail him or something, and so Mustard wants to kill him."

"Do you believe that?" Sonic asked again.

"No, I didn't feel Creeped out by him, and it just..." I floundered for words a bit, huffing in frustration, "Just-"

"Doesn't feel right in your gut?" Sonic asked.

"Exactly," I nodded, stopping and looking over at him, "Something about this whole thing just feels weird, I can't figure out what."

"I agree," Sonic replied, "But we can't find out more from where we're sitting, Vector?"

"I'm here," Vector's voice rang through our earpieces, "We've found a few more traps... they're weird though."

"Weird?" Sonic asked.

"One's a machine in the room right above you guys that'll cut into the floor, we think it'd cut down the chandelier if it activated," Vector replied, "And we found another chemistry set in another hotel room, but Espio ran the ingredients, it's the same stuff the liquid smoke used in smoke machines is made of."

"Is that dangerous?" I asked.

"Not unless you're allergic to it," Mighty said, "And get this, that cutting machine wouldn't have worked anyway, it was going to use a throwing knife, it wouldn't have been able to penetrate the floor, let alone cut deep enough."

"...maybe these are red herrings?" I asked, looking at Sonic, who shrugged, "A couple of fake ones to distract you from the real ones?"

"We'll keep looking," Espio said, "The cutting machine was hooked to a timer, like the gun Scarlet said she found. It was only a few seconds from going off. We've been lucky."

"Thanks, guys, we'll see if we can find out anything down here," Sonic said.

"This is really elaborate..." I huffed, rubbing my forehead, "It's like some kind of really crummy attempt at a mystery story." Sonic pursed his lips for a moment before reaching behind him and pulling his phone out of... somewher-Ok, hold on.

"Hey, Sonic?" I asked, standing up a bit straighter, "Where are you... putting your phone?"

"Hm?" Sonic looked up, "What'd you say bud?"

"Your phone," I pointed, "Where are you putting it? You're wearing slacks with pockets now but before you just hold stuff behind you back and it disappears."

"Oh, Hammerspace," Sonic explained, "It's this extradimensional space where we can put stuff."

I stared blankly at Sonic for a moment, trying to digest that little nugget of information. "...I have questions."

"So do we," Sonic quickly replied, "But we aren't getting answers any time soon. Only person who understands it is Amy, and she isn't telling."

"Huh..."

"C'mon, let's head back, break's almost over," Sonic waved me over to follow him. "You look good by the way."

"Thanks, you do too."

"Thanks, bud."


	18. Who, Where, Why?  Just... Why?

"So you're from another planet?" Ms. White asked, resting her chin on her hand, gazing at me from across the table, "That's amazing."

"I don't know if I'd call it 'amazing,'" I replied sheepishly, looking back at my cards to remember what I had.

"Quit distracting him Virginia," Mr. Green reprimanded playfully, sitting back down with another drink in hand.

"I'm sorry, it's just not every day you get to meet someone from another planet!" She exclaimed, nudging the badger a bit. "Haven't you had enough to drink?"

  
"Why bother asking, you know he'll just say 'no,'" Professor Plum teased, crossing his legs and leaning back. He had shed his jacket, draping it over the back of his chair and rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. "And I have to agree," He continued, turning his attention back to me, "I find your story most intriguing. Tell me, what is your planet like?"

  
"Um... less technologically advanced than this one, I guess...?" I looked over at Sonic for some help, but all he offered me was a shrug.

  
"Don't look at me, I've never been to your world bud," He said, laughing a bit, "You're on your own here."

  
"Um... no flying cars for one..." I looked up for a moment, "Our phones aren't made of glass... we use paper money-"

  
"What?" Ms. White looked shocked, "What happens if you lose it?"

  
"If you have paper money? Oh, it's gone," I reply, "You can put it in a bank so it's digitally on a card, but it's all based off the physical, actual money you earn."

  
"That's bizarre..." The wolf shook her head.

  
"So your economy is based on the scarcity of your currency?" Mr. Green asked.

  
"Well I mean, I wouldn't call it scarce..." I shrugged.

  
"Well no, I would hope not," The badger chuckled a bit, "I meant to say that your currency has value because there's a limited amount of it."

  
"Oh, yes, that's... at least I think that's how it works," I tried to recall my high school economics classes.

  
"Oh come now, he doesn't want to talk about his economy," Col. Mustard playfully chastised the others, "Tell us about you, your family!" I felt a familiar twist in my gut.

  
"There's... not much to talk about," I tried to laugh a bit. "Just my mom, dad, little brother and I."

  
"Do you miss them...?" The Colonel asked, lowering his voice a bit. Everyone at the table looked up at me, various degrees of sadness or sympathy on their faces. I nodded a bit. "Well then, when I win this game, I'll make sure the Chaos Emerald goes to you."

  
"When you win," Ms. White laughed a bit, "Excuse me, I think you mean when I win, I'll be giving him the Chaos Emerald!"

  
"Whoever wins," Plum cut in, a grin on his face from his friends' antics, "I'm sure they'll be more than happy to give the Emerald to you."

  
"Quite right," Mr. Boddy nodded, looking over at me and Sonic. "Had I known I had a Chaos Emerald in my possession, I would have contacted you immediately."

  
"It's fine Mr. Boddy," Sonic nodded, "Right now... you should all be worried about the two newbies beating all of you," He smirked, flipping over his cards. "Full house." The table went a little crazy, whooping and clapping, before looking at Professor Plum. The fox crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair, and huffing... before grinning mischievously and flipping his cards over.

  
"Four of a kind," He crooned. Everyone erupted into cheers and laughter as Plum fanned himself with his two cards. Sonic rolled his eyes, smirking. I quickly looked around the table... everyone was so happy, got along so well. No one seemed to be faking it. Did someone here really want to kill Mr. Boddy? Or was it someone else...? My mind wandered to the person Sonic replaced at the table.

  
"So, can I ask a question?" I asked once everyone had calmed down. "Why isn't Rush here?"

  
"I think he had a show tonight, didn't he?" Ms. White asked, looking over at Mr. Boddy. The old dog nodded.

  
"Quite a few actually," Mr. Boddy said, "He's recording a special."

  
"Oh, good for him!" Ms. White nodded, starting to deal out the cards, "After the year he's had, he deserves some good going his way."

  
"Year he's had?" Sonic asked, peeking at his cards.

  
"He was contracted with me last year," Mr. Boddy explained, regret creeping in his voice, "But Casinopolis fell onto some hard times... And my casino saw the worst of it. This place has been around since Casinopolis' inception, the younger generation seems more interested in the newer, flashier places. We had to let many, many people go here... including Rush. He and I tried our best to renegotiate his contract, but in the end, there just wasn't enough in the budget to afford him."

  
"He wouldn't accept your offer?" I asked.

  
"No no," Boddy said, "He wanted to, he truly did. But he needed more than I could afford to continue to develop his magic and come up with future shows."

  
"The Voleur casino snatched him up pretty quickly, and he's... doing ok," Mr. Green continued, "More shows, smaller stage... he's..." The badger sighed. "...We miss him..."

  
"You all seem close..." I remarked.

  
"He always had a way of making us smile," Plum chuckled quietly, leaning back in his chair. A somber silence fell over the table.

  
"But, this story has a silver lining," Mr. Boddy said with a smile, "Rush's contract with Voleur is almost up, and I've made enough to pay him more than double what I was before."

  
"That's wonderful news John!" Col. Mustard exclaimed, "Have you let him know yet?"

  
"I can't tell him," Boddy sighed, "His contract prohibits any sort of contract discussions with any other casino owners... you know how Voleur is."

  
"Slimy little weasels, aren't they..." Prof. Plum grumbled, shaking his head. The others began commenting, but the conversation faded into the background as I looked over at Sonic. He had this... intense look on his face. He was staring at the table, tapping it softly with his finger... I could see the gears in his head turning... I gently touched his arm. He looked over at me.

  
"...you ok?" I asked quietly. He almost didn't seem to hear me, just staring at me as he nodded.

  
"...Hey, Mr. Boddy?" He finally said after a few minutes, "Sorry to interrupt, but... do you think we could break for a while?"

  
"Of course, it's about that time... is everything alright?" The dog asked, watching Sonic stand.

  
"Mhmmm," Sonic nodded, "I'm just feeling a bit cooped up, gotta stretch my legs," Sonic smiled cordially. "I won't need long."

  
"Well, you have an hour, I hope that's enough time," Boddy said, standing as well, looking a bit worried. Sonic nodded.

  
"That'll be perfect," He replied, moving to the door and looking back at me. I quickly stood, doing an odd nod/curtsy combo to everyone at the table, and hurrying after the hedgehog. Sonic was walking quickly through the casino, making his way back towards the entrance. He kept looking back at me, making sure I was with him, that same intense look on his face. I looked up at him worriedly...

  
"Sonic...?" I probed. He looked back at me and, probably after seeing my expression, relaxed a bit.

  
"Sorry bud, did I worry ya?" He asked, stopping to let me catch up.

  
"A little..." I answered, moving to his side, "What's going on?"

  
"I just do my best thinking on my feet," He said, "That room was getting a bit stuffy."

  
"You're thinking Rush is somehow involved?" I asked, "You got all... weird when they brought him up." Sonic closed his eyes, untying his bow tie and unbuttoning the top button of his white shirt.

  
"...let's get outside. I'll let you know what I'm thinking on the way," He said, starting to walk forward again, this time making sure I was at his side.

  
"...wait, on the way where?" I asked.

  
"Any fast food joint," Sonic said, holding his stomach, "I need some actual food..."

* * *

  
No more than ten minutes later, Sonic was wolfing down a chili dog, looking like he hadn't eaten in days. I waited patiently for him to get to a point where he could speak.

  
"I don't think anyone wants to kill Mr. Boddy," He said around a mouthful of food, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

  
"Oh?" I handed him a napkin.

  
"Think about it," Sonic said, swallowing, "All of these machines set up, and so far, all of them have been built with fake weapons, or put in places where they'd be totally ineffective."

  
"Yeah, it's weird..." I said, "Are you thinking all the prop weapons are from the magician?"

  
"Exactly. The knives for example probably came from a knife throwing act," Sonic said, pulling his phone out from behind him. He tapped on it a few times, "But there's a problem..."

  
"Which is?"

  
"He's filming a special, remember?" He said, bringing the phone up to his ear, "Which means he might have an alibi."

  
"That better be an impressive alibi," I said, "We've been playing for hours, and setting all those traps up before the game must have taken a good chunk of time..."

  
"Yeah..." Sonic mumbled, more to himself than to me, before talking to his phone. "Knuckles, where have you been?" I sat up a bit straighter... it'd been a while since we'd heard from the Echidna. Sonic glanced up at me, before setting his phone down and tapping something on it. "You're on speaker Knux, I got Josh here."

  
"Hey Josh! Doing ok?" Knuckles voice rang out through the phone... almost sounded like he was in the room with us.

  
"Hey, you... sound like you're doing ok!" I replied. I fully expected Knuckles to be a drunk mess when we finally got ahold of him, but he sounded totally sober. More than that, he sounded elated!

  
"You'll never guess who I've found!" He almost yelled out, "Rush, the magician! THE Rush!" Sonic and I looked up at each other almost immediately.

  
"Knux, are you at the Voleur?" Sonic asked, bringing the phone a bit closer to us.

  
"Uh... yeah, I think so, after I lost you guys in the crowd I just kinda walked into a place..." He was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke again, "Yeah, yeah, Voleur... I wasn't really paying attention, I've just kinda been following Rush around."

  
"Didn't know you were such a big fan of magic," I said, resting my chin on my fist.

  
"You get bored guarding the Master Emerald sometimes," Knuckles explained, "He does a lot of cool 'Pay It Forward Pranks' he calls them, he'll use magic to prank someone in a fun way, like they'll pull a leaf off a tree and it turns into money."

  
"...not much of the killing type, is he?" I replied, feeling myself slump a bit.

  
"Killing type?" Knuckles repeated, sounding a bit shocked, "Sonic, what the hell have you gotten into?"

  
"Do you know how long Rush has been there Knux?" Sonic asked, ignoring the question. Knuckles thought for a moment.

  
"...Well, at least since I've been here... according to his Caro, he's been here... pretty much all day, rehearsing and doing some live streams..."

  
"Caro?" I asked, looking up at Sonic. The hedgehog picked up his phone and tapped on it a few times while Knuckles explained.

  
"Caro is a big social media site here," He said, "People can post photos, videos, status updates..." Sonic set the phone down again as the app's logo popped up, a white outline of a carousel. After a brief pause, a light blue background filled the screen, and three rows of white, rounded squares popped up, each one filled with a small thumbnail of a video or photo or a preview of a status update.

  
"Each of these is a person's feed," Sonic said, pointing to one of the rows, specifically pointing to a smaller, profile picture right above the feed, and a name right above that, "@TheTinkerFox." Sonic dragged his finger along the row, cycling through the feed, like little blocky horses on a merry-go-round. Images of little metal inventions, some video thumbnails of a plane, lots of little snippets of text posts talking about some mechanic technique or another.

  
"Is that Tails'?" I asked, staring at the feed. Sonic smiled and nodded.

  
"Caro is probably the most popular social media app on Mobius," Sonic said, dragging his finger up to show more feeds, before picking it up and typing on it for a moment. He set it back down after a few seconds. "Here, this one's Rush's."

  
He tapped the profile picture, and squares grew, one blowing up a little more than the others, taking up the majority of the screen. He swiped backwards through the feed quickly, slowing down as he came to a text post. He pointed to a small line of text at the bottom right hand corner. "This is his first post today, early this morning."

  
"'Getting ready for my special, can't believe this is happening,'" I read aloud, "'#soexcited, #ALittleBlackMagic, #soti...' wait, 'soti?'"

  
"S-O-T-I, it means 'Screaming On The Inside,'" Knuckles explained.

  
"The rest is just hashtags," Sonic said, already scrolling forward to the next post, a selfie the magician took. He was a yellow bat with a triangular black marks above and below each of his eyes. He had at least four piercings in one ear, and a couple of bars in the other, snake bite lip piercings... His tongue was out, a stud embedded in it, and he held up a hand adorned with a black, fingerless glove in a "rock on" sign. His eyes were a piercing red, giving him a punk rock, almost intimidating sort of look.

  
"This is... not who I had in mind when I thought 'Vegas magician...'" I said, handing Sonic's phone back to him.

  
"Oh, I've seen this guy, he's the one who jumped into that volcano, right?" Sonic asked.

  
"Yeah, he pulls off all sorts of crazy stunts every year!" Knuckles gushed. 

  
"Oh, so he's your version of Criss Angel, ok."

  
"Knux, uh, how popular is this guy?" Sonic asked, scratching the back of his head.

  
"I mean, you've at least seen him, so pretty popular," Knuckles replied. Sonic shrugged.

  
"Fair," Sonic nodded, "Alright Knux, we're at the Carnival Nights Casino, can you meet us over there ASAP?"

  
"Aw, he's gonna come out and sign autographs though!" Knuckles whined.

  
"You're going to see him soon?" Sonic asked, "Ok, just... hang on for a second," Sonic tapped a button, muting the phone on our end so Knuckles couldn't hear us.

  
"What's up?" I asked.

  
"Blitz couldn't have done it... even if he had time, he's too recognizable," Sonic said, crossing his arms on the table, "But someone close to him probably could have."

  
"Someone close to him?" I tilted my head.

  
"Someone who could borrow Rush's equipment without him batting an eye," Sonic nodded.

  
"...When we ran that facial scan on Blitz, Rush's name came up," I recalled. Sonic nodded, looking at the phone again.

  
"There's definitely a resemblance..." He said replied, leaning forward.

  
"...You think Blitz is Rush's-"

  
"It fits, don't you think?" Sonic leaned toward me as well. "Mr. Boddy hired Blitz, he probably hired Rush to work at Carnival Nights as a normal employee, he can move around the hotel unnoticed, going into rooms with equipment-"

  
"That he could easily borrow from Blitz-"

  
"And he probably knows how to set most of it up since he's probably helped Blitz so many times-"

  
"He might be angry at Mr. Boddy for dropping his brother from the casino, and wants revenge!" I grinned, "We found the killer! ...Well, 'killer.'" I said, making air quotes. Sonic frowned and leaned back.

  
"Yeah, that's where this gets confusing... What's he trying to do if he doesn't want to kill him?" Sonic asked.

  
"Maybe it's a threat or a message?" I suggested.

  
"Pretty lousy message, don't you think?" Sonic asked, before laughing. "It's more obvious to us than it is to Rush's target." I laughed a bit as well before I felt something snap into place in my head.

  
"He made it more obvious to us," I repeated, "What if... what if that's the point? What if all of this isn't meant for Boddy?" Sonic sat back up.

  
"You got an idea bud?" He asked.

  
"Sort of," I admitted, "It's pretty half-baked right now, but what if... what if the Chaotix were the target?"

  
"...What are you thinking?" Sonic asked, scooting forward in his seat. I took a deep breath, gathering up my thoughts a bit.

  
"Ok... Rush goes up to the Chaotix with a poster of the poker game, probably knowing they associate with you, telling them one of the prizes is a Chaos Emerald. They'll want to observe the game or try to get one of them in it so they can either win or bribe the winner to give it to them, and while they're researching and getting ready, they find out one of the players isn't who they say they are."

  
"They find out Scarlet is there because she got a note saying that Mr. Boddy was going to be killed," Sonic nodded, "It makes the threat seem more credible than if Rush just told them."

  
"That's when they discover the 'death traps,'" I did air quotes again, "Starting a wild goose chase through the hotel, disabling each one in case one of them might turn out to be a real threat."

  
"I mean, it's crazy," Sonic said, to which I nodded, "But it... kinda makes a weird amount of sense. He's trying to keep the Chaotix busy by having them run around the hotel. But why?" He scrunched his face a bit, "Why go through all that trouble?"

  
"...That's where I'm stumped," I admitted, "This probably isn't the answer, I'm just spitballing-"

  
"No no no, you're on the right track," Sonic said, "Your Creepy Senses didn't go off when you saw everyone in the room, or when you saw Blitz." I sat up. "Only other lead we have is Rush so-"

  
"Wait, how do you know when my Creepy Senses go off?" I asked.

  
"You tense up a bit when you get them," Sonic explained, "It's a little obvious."

  
"Literally only my parents and Jacob were able to see when I had my Creeped Out moments."

  
"Really?" Sonic sounded almost shocked, frowning slightly. "...well, anyway, you weren't Creeped Out."

  
Now... let me be real here for a second... finding out Sonic noticed when I was feeling Creepy... felt... odd. Not bad... just... I don't know. Odd.

  
"...Well..." I shook the feeling off, "You also remember that my Creepy Senses don't work 100% of the time, they could have just... misfired."

  
"Nah," Sonic waved a hand, "You gotta have more faith in yourself dude." I felt myself almost blush... And, almost by accident, a time I felt Creeped Out today popped up in my head. Sonic smiled, leaning forward. "You just thought of something."

  
"...When we first went up to the 13th floor, Blitz found me... I felt Creeped Out right before," I said quietly. Sonic clapped and pointed at me.

  
"See, you had a feeling about Blitz from the very beginning," He said excitedly, a wide grin on his face, "You KNEW it and you didn't even know you knew it!"

  
"Sonic..." I felt a bit embarrassed... but I couldn't deny it... the praise and affirmation was nice. "Ok, moving past all that, we still don't know WHY Blitz is doing this whole... song and dance... It's so elaborate..." The two of us sat quietly, mulling things over, before Sonic snapped his fingers.

  
"It's all a magic show!" Sonic exclaimed.

  
"...It is?" I asked, feeling a touch puzzled.

  
"Yeah yeah yeah!" Sonic nodded, looking around the table for a second before grabbing a napkin and a salt shaker. He tore off a corner of one of his chili dog wrapper and crumpled it into a small ball, draped the napkin over the salt shaker, and held the napkin covered salt shaker over the ball. "Watch the ball," He instructed, moving the salt shaker away. It was there. He moved it back over... then pulled away. It was still there... I looked back up at Sonic, at the napkin-covered shaker, the ball, and back at Sonic.

  
"...Is... there supposed to be a trick here?" I asked. He just smiled at me, before crumpling the napkin up and tossing it aside. The salt shaker had vanished! "...ok, very impressive, what are you trying to prove here?"

  
"While you were looking at the ball, I made the salt shaker disappear. Magicians call that 'misdirection,' making you focus on one thing while the magician secretly does something else," Sonic explained, reaching below the table, out of my view, and bringing up the salt shaker. "What if that's what's going on here?"

  
"...You think Blitz is making us focus on the traps while he's really planning on doing something else?" I nodded slowly, piecing together Sonic's train of thought.

  
"Exactly, which means we need to figure out what he's trying to distract us from seeing," Sonic finished.

  
"...this is crazy..." I said quietly, holding my head, "I mean, what could possibly be worth going through all this trouble, this is ridiculous!"

  
"He's eccentric..." Sonic agreed with a slight chuckle, "But I think most people in Mobius are, coming up with crazy plans like this isn't all that unusual. I mean, look at Egghead."

  
"But why though?" I asked, shaking my head. Sonic shrugged.

  
"Something in the water?" He joked, "What's important right now is figuring out what Blitz is up to."

  
"Right, well... um..." I tilted my head a bit, staring at the ball and the crumpled napkin, "...whatever Blitz is doing is probably not in the casino, every corner of the place is covered in cameras to keep people from cheating. It'd be stupid to do something there where you could be seen so easily. Do you think he's trying to do something outside of the building?"

  
"If he was, he wouldn't have bothered trying to distract us," Sonic said, "So it's probably something to do with the hotel."

  
"What could Blitz possibly want in the hotel?" I wondered, shutting my eyes.

  
"Hey guys?" Mighty's voice crackled through our earpieces, "Sorry for eavesdropping, but are you guys saying that our culprit isn't trying to kill Mr. Boddy?" He asked.

  
"I don't think so..." Sonic stood, taking his wrappers to a trash bin, "But keep looking for those little devices. They might help us know where to look."

  
"Espio's been keeping track of where these things have been, will that help?" Mighty asked.

  
"Yeah, can you read those off to us?" Sonic asked, motioning me to the door of the restaurant. We walked out onto the street as we listened to Espio's deep voice reading off room numbers.

  
"803, 1225, 617, 321, 620, 1109..."

  
"These are all over the place..." I remarked, trying to visualize the rooms in my head.

  
"Misdirection," Sonic repeated, "He's trying to confuse us. Espio, can you put those in order?"

  
"One moment..." Espio replied. After a few seconds, he began again. "105, 203, 218..." Espio continued to read off number after number... there seemed to be at least a couple little devices on every floor... "1109, 1112, 1201, 1205, 1225... And that operation Joshua found in the store on the 13th floor."

  
"...Wait, mine doesn't make sense," I said, looking up at Sonic.

  
"What do you mean?" He asked.

  
"Well..." I thought back to the experience in the empty store, "All those other traps have been pretty much the same, some kind of thing on a timer, unguarded, hidden in a hotel room... So why was mine different?"

  
"Well the boys and I were talking about how people sometimes sneak up there to do... illegal stuff," Vector said, "That might have been something entirely unrelated to this..."

  
"You let illegal stuff happen near your detective agency?" I asked. I could hear Vector's disappointment in himself in his voice.

  
"We don't let it happen, we just... aren't exactly always there when it happens," Vector explained grumbled, "And there's no good camera system up there yet, so, we can't always catch them. Even when we do, someone else just comes up later to take their place and finish their business."

  
"Ah." I thought for a moment, "Well, if we ignore my incident, there is a trap on every floor aside from the 13th. If we're thinking he's trying to misdirect us, does that mean he's planning to do something there?"

  
"I think so..." Sonic mused, crossing his arms.

  
"I don't see why," Mighty said, "There's nothing on our floor but our agency."

  
"And yet this is where this line of logic has taken us," Vector said, starting to sound a little bit like one of those cheesy detectives from old TV shows, "However improbable it may be."

  
"...yeah... ok, so, we are going to go up there and take a look around," Sonic said, nodding down at me, as if asking for approval. I nodded back. "We might have missed something."

  
"Good luck," Espio said, "We shall join you just as soon as Charmy leaves the restroom."

  
"...Right," Sonic said a bit uncomfortably, "See you guys."

  
The two of us made our way back to the casino, heading directly towards the elevators. Sonic pulled his glass phone out again, checking the time. "Hope they won't be too mad we're gonna be late."

  
"Shouldn't we go tell them what we're doing?" I asked.

  
"Not without proof. I don't know how they feel about Blitz, and I don't wanna step on any toes," Sonic pushed the elevator call button, "We'll just need to figure out what he's after and hope we're not too late." We stood quietly for a little while, watching the floor indicator above the elevator entrance slowly tick down.

  
"...I still don't get it... why go to all this trouble...?" I asked, "All these different little traps...?"

  
"...my thoughts?" Sonic shook his head a bit, "Whatever Rush is doing up on the 13th floor, it's either time consuming or something that he can only do at a certain time. Either way, he set up all these little props to make sure the Chaotix didn't go back up to their office for a while."

  
"...but what if they did go back up early?" I asked.

  
"He'd probably have something set up to stop them from ever making it up there..." He said.

  
"Like in the elevator?"

  
The two of us looked at each other.

  
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. We looked inside. Sonic squared his shoulders.

  
"Stay behind me," He said quietly, walking in. I followed, the doors closing behind us. He gently pushed me behind his back, keeping a hand on my arm, as he started the lift in motion. I held my breath, watching the floor numbers climb...

  
10...

  
11...

  
12...

  
13...

  
I felt Sonic push me behind him just a bit more, spreading his legs to get in a 'ready' position.

  
The elevator settled.

  
And then it settled again.

  
And again.

  
And... again...

  
Then it started to move downward. It stopped on floor 12. The door opened to a hallway lined with rooms, a few members of the cleaning staff walking in and out of them. Sonic slowly peeked out, looking a bit confused, pushing the 13th floor button again. We moved up, the elevator settled... and settled... and again... and again... then back down we went to the 12th floor.

  
"...ooookay, he's just keeping people from going to the 13th floor..." He said, slowly stepping out, "Let's just... use the stairs..."

  
We walked out into the hall, the opulent theme from the lobby below continuing here. "Wouldn't... someone else notice the elevator wigging out?" I asked, looking back as the elevator doors slid shut.

  
"I doubt many people go up to the 13th floor regularly aside from the Chaotix, and... no offense to them, but if they complained about the elevator not working, I doubt anyone would jump on their request to fix it," Sonic grabbed the door handle for the stair entry and threw it open, ushering me inside. He took the stairs two at a time... I struggled to follow.

  
"Even if... phew... if that were the case... I-I mean, that's gotta be pretty suspicious!" I called out to Sonic, my voice echoing around the stairwell, "Wouldn't someone have noticed him doing... whatever he did to the elevator? Aren't there... there security cameras in there?"

  
"Not if he didn't do anything to the elevator itself," Sonic called out from above me. I heard him start to come back down the stairs, seeing me huffing and puffing my way up. He smiled apologetically.

"Vector said there aren't a lot of working cameras on the 13th floor, remember? Blitz might have messed with something in the shaft that kept the elevator from sensing it was in the right spot."

  
"Then-" I began to climb the stairs with Sonic- "Wouldn't he have kept us from getting in this way as well?"

  
"I'm sure he did," He said, matching my pace, "But we gotta at least check, that way I have an excuse for what we're gonna do next." He reached the top and pulled on the door. Locked.

  
"What, bust the door down?" I asked. He shook his head.

  
"I'm strong, but I'm not that strong," He said, looking over at me, "We're gonna scale it."

  
"...scale... it?" I tried to pull some kind of explanation from his words.

  
"Yup, scale it," He already began to make his way down the stairs, "We're gonna scale the building."

  
"...Scale as in climb?"

  
"Yup. That ok?"

  
"...Sure."

* * *

  
One harrowing trip up the side of a large "circus tent" later, we managed to slip through a window someone had left unlocked in one of the empty shops. Sonic quickly slipped in, keeping a tight grip on my hand as he carefully pulled me through. As soon as my feet touched the ground, my heart pounded, my Creepy Senses kicking in. Sonic looked over at me.

  
"...He's close..." I whispered, looking up at him. He nodded.

  
"Don't let go," He whispered back, raising up our conjoined hands. We slowly made our way out of the shop, Sonic going first to check for any potential threats... We stood in the hallway. "Okay... so what's he looking for..." He mumbled. I thought back for a bit.

  
"...He found me in that abandoned hotel room," I pondered, "Maybe that wasn't a coincidence..."

  
"You remember where it is?" Sonic asked. I nodded, guiding him toward the room.

  
"I remember it because I went in there-" I found the door and opened it- "Thinking there was a-"

  
Blitz stood on the balcony, staring at something in his hands. Something red and glowing.

  
"...Chaos Emerald."

  
Blitz looked up at us, pulling the Emerald close to him. His eyes were wide, his breathing quick. Sonic stepped forward slowly, speaking quietly.

  
"Blitz-" Blitz stepped back, his back bumping against the balcony railing. Sonic brought his hands up.

"...Blitz... we don't want to hurt you... we just want the Emerald..." The brown bat shook his head, bringing the Emerald closer to his chest.

  
"H-He... He hurt Rush!" Blitz's voice wavered a bit, both from fear, and, from what I could pick up, anger. "Do you know what he went through after Boddy fired him? He-He was... he was so depressed Sonic...! And that new casino, they work him to the bone!"

  
"So your plan is to steal the Chaos Emerald?" Sonic asked, taking a slow step forward, "Take away some of Boddy's fortune?" Blitz stared at Sonic, his chest heaving a bit, before looking down at the Emerald.

  
"...i-it called out to me..." He mumbled, "It... it looked like it was worth so much... I thought it would hurt him... it would ruin his... his credibility..."

  
"Blitz, I know you're angry, but hurting Boddy isn't going to make you feel better," Sonic took another step. Blitz narrowed his eyes, baring his fangs.

  
"Don't come any closer!" The bat growled, his fur standing on end. I watched the Red Emerald in his hands glow a bit brighter.

  
"Please, just... give us the Emerald," Sonic took another, smaller step forward, holding out his hand, "And let's go down and talk to Boddy."

  
"I said don't come closer!" Blitz yelled. The Emerald glowed an even brighter red, bright enough that Sonic noticed too.

  
"Blitz-"

  
"GO AWAY!!" 

  
The Emerald flashed brightly, blinding me for a moment. When I gained my vision back, Blitz wasn't there anymore...

At least, not in any recognizable form.


End file.
